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 impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got started, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by HSA-style 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 ineffective Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump posted.
Republican Support
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted in response to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic senators shared concerned reactions to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
