US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's 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 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 ineffective Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump wrote.
Republican Endorsement
Several Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator stated.
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'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic lawmakers expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to eliminate 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 insurance companies by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an emerging proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in return for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is irresponsible because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "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 carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to secure enough backing in 2017.
