American senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to end the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the lengthiest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Golf Course
As Saturday's session got started, Republican senators welcomed a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments 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 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 welcomed the proposal, 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 patient," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to 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 wrote in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Response
Democratic lawmakers shared alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"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 unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts indicated that the essence of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his residence and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
