American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Plan from Golf Course
As weekend meeting got started, Republican senators welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is 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
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply 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 medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic lawmakers expressed alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the criticism of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the closure 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 way ahead" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Situation
Not one 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 support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the essence of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate 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 repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
