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 resolve the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got started, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of 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 welcomed the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on social media, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted in response to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Reaction
Democratic senators expressed alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing plan 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 leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the tax credits.
"Inaction is derelict because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
