American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got under way, Republican senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort 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 ineffective Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump wrote.
GOP Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on social media, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing 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 medical coverage they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic senators shared concerned responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
