American senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As weekend session got started, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to profit-driven Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump wrote.
Republican Support
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed 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 taxpayer money 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 senators expressed alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts indicated that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies 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 agreement and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
