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 cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got started, GOP senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by HSA-style accounts.
"My recommendation is 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 posted.
GOP Support
Several Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on social media, and stood next to a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Reaction
Opposition senators expressed concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical 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 responded to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in return for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts indicated that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
