US senators 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, known as Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, carriers were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got under way, Republican senators welcomed a suggestion made on online platforms 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 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 Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted 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 medical coverage they want."
Democratic Response
Opposition senators shared alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts suggested that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.
