American senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the longest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, carriers were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend session got started, Republican senators welcomed a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort 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 money sucking 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 posted.
GOP Endorsement
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Response
Opposition senators expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet 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 censure of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand 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 resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled 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 negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump went back 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 proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
