US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, 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 session got started, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by health savings accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the 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 wrote.
GOP Support
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on social media, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Response
Opposition senators shared alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.
"Inaction is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his residence and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
