American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got under way, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by health savings accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of 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.
Republican Endorsement
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and displayed 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 reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Reaction
Opposition lawmakers shared alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal 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: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers 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 solitary Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies 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 agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
