American senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got started, Republican senators welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by HSA-style 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.
GOP Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's proposal. "We need to 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 Response
Opposition lawmakers shared alarmed responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in return for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Dynamics
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 lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers suggested that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.
