American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Golf Course
As Saturday's 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.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to profit-driven 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 Support
Several Republican senators praised 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 praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed 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 reply to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Response
Opposition senators expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart 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 subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated 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 coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
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 overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
