US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the longest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Golf Course
As Saturday's meeting got under way, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by health savings 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 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 comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to 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 response to Trump's proposal. "We must stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Opposition senators shared alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.
"Inaction is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
