American senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to diminish as GOP senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As Saturday's session got under way, GOP 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 replaced by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Billions of Dollars currently being sent to profit-driven 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
Several Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator commended 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 proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic lawmakers expressed concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in return for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the tax credits.
"Inaction is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers suggested that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to secure enough support in 2017.
