American senators are meeting during the weekend for the first 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 recede as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Golf Course
As Saturday's meeting got started, Republican senators embraced a suggestion 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.
"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
Several Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal 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 proposal. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Reaction
Democratic lawmakers expressed alarmed responses to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "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: "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 Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the closure in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an offer to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
