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 impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled 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 session got under way, GOP senators embraced 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 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 ineffective Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump posted.
GOP Support
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on online platforms, 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 wrote in response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop public funds 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 Response
Democratic lawmakers shared alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
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 terminate the closure in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That's 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 coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several analysts indicated that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
