American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on Americans from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got under way, Republican senators welcomed a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by HSA-style accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to profit-driven 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 wrote.
Republican Support
Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will 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 stood next to 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 reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Opposition senators shared alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in return for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks 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 senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
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 insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the support 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.
Several observers suggested that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with existing health issues.
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 proposal that failed to secure enough backing in 2017.
