American senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend session got under way, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by HSA-style 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 posted.
GOP Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, 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 praised Trump's suggestion on social media, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted in response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Response
Opposition lawmakers expressed concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical 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 responded to the censure of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
