American senators 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 diminish as GOP senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got under way, GOP senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms 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 ineffective Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump wrote.
GOP Support
Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to 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 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 health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Reaction
Democratic senators expressed concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to eliminate 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 insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of moderate Democrats 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 way ahead" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Situation
Not one 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 legislators need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to secure enough support in 2017.
