American senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Golf Course
As weekend meeting got started, GOP senators welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced 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 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
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on online platforms, 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 must stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Response
Democratic lawmakers expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"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 defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator responded to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some observers suggested that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.
