American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Plan from Golf Course
As weekend session got started, Republican senators welcomed a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.
"My recommendation is 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 Support
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in response to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic lawmakers shared concerned responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the closure in return for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some observers suggested that the core 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 repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
