American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got started, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms 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 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 plan, which is similar to a replacement 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 proposal 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 posted in reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Reaction
Opposition senators shared alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated 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 censure of insurance companies by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in exchange for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan 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 support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept 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 proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.
