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 proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting 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 government payments to be substituted by HSA-style 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 wrote.
Republican Support
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on social media, and stood next to 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 posted in reply to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic lawmakers shared alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate 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: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before discussing the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict 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 fails to act."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts indicated that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
