American senators are meeting during the weekend for the first 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 GOP senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on Americans from the longest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got under way, GOP senators welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by HSA-style 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 posted.
Republican Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on social media, and displayed a giant blow-up 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 insurance companies 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 concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another senator responded to the censure of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in return for a future vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several analysts indicated that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
