American senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got under way, Republican senators welcomed a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.
"I am recommending 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 posted.
Republican Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators praised 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 suggestion on social media, 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 carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Response
Opposition lawmakers expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the closure in return for a future vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the future 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 is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate 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 agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
