American senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the impasse appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Plan from Golf Course
As weekend session 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 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 posted.
Republican Support
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on social media, 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 wrote in response to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Opposition lawmakers expressed concerned responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the criticism of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an developing proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in return for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and doubled down on his insistence 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.
