US senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, carriers were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As Saturday's session got under way, Republican senators welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort 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 bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump wrote.
GOP Endorsement
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and displayed a giant blow-up 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 suggestion. "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 health care they want."
Opposition Response
Opposition senators shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an emerging proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Situation
None 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 support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some observers suggested that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
