US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend session got under way, Republican senators welcomed a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to profit-driven Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump posted.
GOP Support
Several Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and stood next to a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Response
Opposition lawmakers expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an emerging proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in return for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the future of the tax credits.
"Inaction is irresponsible because people will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts suggested that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
