US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Plan from Golf Course
As Saturday's meeting got under way, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted 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
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion 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 posted in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Response
Opposition senators expressed alarmed responses 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 stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in return for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an offer to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before discussing the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some observers suggested that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his residence and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
