American senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As Saturday's session got under way, GOP senators embraced a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by HSA-style 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 ineffective Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump wrote.
Republican Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative 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 praised 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 posted in reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Response
Opposition senators expressed concerned responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an emerging proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in return for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated 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 consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several analysts indicated that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.
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 iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
