US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got started, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by HSA-style 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 posted.
Republican Endorsement
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and stood next to 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 reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Response
Opposition lawmakers expressed alarmed responses to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the core of such a plan 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 reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
