US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to end the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a proposal toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session 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 wrote.
Republican Support
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on social media, and stood next to a giant blow-up 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 proposal. "We need to stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic lawmakers expressed concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an developing plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts indicated that the essence of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
