American senators 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 proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Plan from Golf Course
As weekend session got under way, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by HSA-style 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 wrote.
GOP Endorsement
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Reaction
Democratic senators shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging 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 talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several 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 suggested that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to secure enough support in 2017.
