American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to end the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As Saturday's meeting got under way, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by health savings accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Billions of Dollars currently being sent to profit-driven 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.
GOP Support
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, and displayed a large print 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 must stop public funds 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
Opposition lawmakers shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an developing proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in return for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.
"Inaction is irresponsible because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "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 concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers indicated that the essence of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his residence and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.
