American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Golf Course
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 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.
GOP Support
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to 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 response to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Reaction
Opposition senators shared alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator responded to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "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 carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of repealing and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts suggested that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
