US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Plan from Golf Course
As weekend meeting got started, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking 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 Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic lawmakers expressed alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the closure in exchange for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several analysts suggested that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
