American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got started, Republican senators welcomed a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by HSA-style 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.
Republican Support
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, 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 wrote in reply to Trump's suggestion. "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 health care they want."
Opposition Reaction
Opposition lawmakers shared concerned reactions 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 commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the closure in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks 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 lawmaker persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several analysts suggested that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals 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 version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
