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 cross-party deal on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the longest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Golf Course
As Saturday's session got under way, Republican senators welcomed a proposal 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.
"My recommendation is 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.
Republican Endorsement
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, 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 said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing 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
Opposition senators expressed concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing 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 shutdown in return for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because citizens 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 Situation
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 legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his residence and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to secure enough support in 2017.
