American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on Americans from the longest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got started, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted 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 wrote.
GOP Support
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic senators shared concerned responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator responded to the criticism of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the essence of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, 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 plan that failed to secure enough backing in 2017.
