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 bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Plan from Golf Course
As weekend meeting got under way, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the 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 wrote.
Republican Support
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, and displayed 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 suggestion. "We need to 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."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic senators expressed concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator responded to the censure of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off 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 indicated an openness to an emerging plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the closure in exchange for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political 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 legislators need the support of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some observers suggested that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
