US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend session got under way, Republican senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the 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 wrote.
Republican Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and displayed 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 response to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Response
Opposition lawmakers shared alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned 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 exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his residence and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to secure enough support in 2017.
