US senators 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 impasse appeared to diminish as GOP senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend meeting got started, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on social media 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 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.
Republican Support
Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on social media, and displayed 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 wrote in reply to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Response
Opposition lawmakers shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the criticism of insurance companies by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in return for a future vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
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 legislators need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his residence and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
