American senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got under way, GOP senators welcomed a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by HSA-style 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 posted.
GOP Support
Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and stood next to a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in response to Trump's proposal. "We need to 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 Response
Opposition lawmakers shared alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in exchange for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
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 insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers indicated that the essence of such a plan 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 insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to secure enough backing in 2017.
