American senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The effect on Americans from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got under way, GOP senators embraced a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of 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 Support
Several Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on social media, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic lawmakers expressed concerned responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another senator responded to the censure 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 applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is irresponsible because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients 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 repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some analysts 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 resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
