US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a proposal toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the lengthiest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend meeting got under way, Republican senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by health savings accounts.
"I am recommending 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
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and displayed a giant blow-up 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 carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic lawmakers shared alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another cynical 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: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump returned 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 plan that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
