US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got started, Republican senators welcomed a suggestion 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.
"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
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal 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 need to stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Reaction
Democratic lawmakers expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the closure in return for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people 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
Not one 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 support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his residence and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
