American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Plan from Golf Course
As weekend meeting got started, GOP 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 money sucking 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 Support
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on social media, and displayed a large print 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 suggestion. "We need to stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Reaction
Democratic lawmakers shared alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"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 unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in return for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and continue 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 discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Situation
None 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 backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts suggested that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement 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 replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.
