American senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Plan from Golf Course
As Saturday's session got under way, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by HSA-style 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 bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump posted.
Republican Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion 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 wrote in response to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money 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 Response
Opposition senators expressed concerned responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator 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. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an developing proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, 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 address the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers suggested that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
