US senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got started, GOP senators welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by health savings 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 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
Several Republican senators praised the proposal, 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 praised Trump's suggestion on online platforms, 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 posted in response 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 medical coverage they want."
Opposition Reaction
Democratic lawmakers expressed alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another senator responded to the censure of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the closure in return for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks 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 continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one 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 backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
