US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact 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 ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got started, GOP senators welcomed a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies 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 posted.
GOP Endorsement
Several Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed 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 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 directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic lawmakers expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator responded to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and extend 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 discussing the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers suggested that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
