US senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on Americans from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got under way, Republican senators embraced 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 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 welcomed the proposal, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to a giant blow-up 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 insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Reaction
Democratic lawmakers shared concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, 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 senator responded to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
