American lawmakers 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 impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, carriers were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got under way, Republican senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media 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 ineffective Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump wrote.
GOP Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," 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 am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Reaction
Opposition senators shared alarmed responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in return for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading 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 leading Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before discussing the future of the tax credits.
"Inaction is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, 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 grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
