American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to end the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Federal Closure
The effect on Americans from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, carriers were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As Saturday's meeting got started, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.
"My recommendation is 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 Support
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the proposal, 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 consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in response to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Reaction
Opposition lawmakers expressed concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful 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 large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end 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 path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is 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 legislators need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.
