American senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to end the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal 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 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 posted.
GOP Endorsement
Several 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 actually better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and stood next to 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 wrote 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
Democratic senators expressed alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in exchange for a future 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 offer to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to secure enough backing in 2017.
