American senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the longest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend meeting got started, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by health savings 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 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 welcomed the plan, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on social media, 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 response to Trump's proposal. "We must stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Reaction
Opposition lawmakers shared alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an offer to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.
