American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the lengthiest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got under way, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by health savings 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.
GOP Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on social media, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he spoke 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 medical coverage they want."
Opposition Reaction
Opposition senators shared concerned responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator responded to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an developing proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.
"Inaction is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," 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 carriers, or that Republican legislators need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
