The longest shutdown of the federal government in United States history has significantly impacted millions of Americans, with federal workers experiencing unpaid leave and essential services facing disruptions. Unsurprisingly, the idea didn’t get much traction. President Donald Trump has since proposed replacing the subsidies entirely with health savings accounts. This unprecedented step drew both praise and criticism from legislators immediately.
The shutdown, now into its fourth week, has impacted nearly 800,000 federal employees, leaving them without a paycheck. Others have lamented their economic security as their obligations start to stack like overdue notices. Airlines have had to face multi billion dollar losses. They’re currently undergoing a wave of cancellation largely because they don’t have the personnel to conduct minimum safety inspections let alone manage air traffic. Today, over 42 million Americans rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Yet they are currently experiencing increasing disruptions in their benefits, creating further stress to household budgets across the country.
Trump’s proposal to replace health care subsidies with health savings accounts has received support from several Republican senators, including Lindsey Graham, Rick Scott, and Bill Cassidy. Graham’s plan mirrors a similar initiative he introduced in 2017, aiming to shift taxpayer money from insurance companies directly to consumers.
“We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want. This will increase competition & drive down costs.” – Rick Scott
Critics of Trump’s plan, including many members of the transportation community, worry it would have disastrous effects. They claim it would pose devastating harms to real people who depend on the ACA provisions. Senator Elizabeth Warren was particularly harsh in her condemnation. She amplified worries first raised by Larry Levitt, the executive vice-president for health policy at the Kaiser Family Foundation.
“You have to read between the lines here to imagine what President Trump is proposing. But, it sounds like it could be a plan for health accounts that could be used for insurance that doesn’t cover pre-existing conditions, which could create a death spiral in ACA plans that do.” – Larry Levitt
Warren called Trump’s proposal yet another attempt to repeal Obamacare and laid out all the ways it could fail.
“In other words, Donald Trump’s ‘concept of a plan’ for health care is another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare.” – Elizabeth Warren
Senator Chuck Schumer (D–NY) is calling on Republicans to accept a one-year extension of the existing subsidies. He thinks this is a critical step before they begin negotiating the future tax credits. He found that if he were to do nothing in this case, it would be acting irresponsibly.
“Doing nothing is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker.” – Chuck Schumer
At least some GOP senators continue to believe that change is still possible, despite shutdown threats. Most importantly, they believe that divided opinions shouldn’t stop health care reform from moving forward. Senator Lindsey Graham euphemized Trump’s plan as a way to open the door to better, innovative consumer choices.
“We’re going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer.” – Lindsey Graham
Yet the chances of a health care plan from Trump that’s widely supported on both sides of the aisle appear remote at best. The Republican Obamacare replacement plan has little, if any Democratic support. It’s a major breach of the party’s supposed ironclad pledge to defend the Affordable Care Act. House Republican lawmakers required the support of at least eight Democrats to pass an agreement to reopen the government. Making this happen in today’s political environment will be no easy feat.
In response to Republicans killing Schumer’s proposal, Senator Jeanne Shaheen highlighted the importance of Democrats looking for other options. She recognized the timeliness of reaching a path to resolution that would bring our government back in operation while providing for our most vulnerable citizens.
“We need another path forward.” – Jeanne Shaheen
At the same time, Bernie Sanders continued to push Democrats to stick with their new resolve after major electoral wins. He reassured us that he will continue to stand strong against proposals that would gut our American families’ safety net.
With debates swirling around Trump’s wall proposal and the current government shutdown, Senator Markwayne Mullin recently made waves on social media. He posted photos of himself and other Republican senators cozying up with Trump in the Oval Office. He said they were literally the frontlines over the weekend in efforts to resolve the situation.
In the meantime, lawmakers are scrambling to deal with the immediate fallout from the government shutdown. Unfortunately for them, at the same time they are wrestling with the long-term impacts of proposed health care reforms. As Republicans and Democrats continue to debate and negotiate, millions of Americans are looking for answers. They want to understand their benefits and health care options.