American lawmakers 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 end the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown
The effect on Americans from the longest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As Saturday's meeting got under way, Republican 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 substituted by health savings 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 Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and displayed 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 suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money 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."
Opposition Response
Democratic senators expressed concerned reactions to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an emerging proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in return for a future vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Dynamics
None 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 support of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts indicated that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement 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 repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
