US senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got started, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course 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 ineffective 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 alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Response
Democratic senators expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in return for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Situation
None 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 lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
