US senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the longest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend session got started, Republican senators welcomed a proposal 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.
"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 posted.
Republican Support
Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward 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 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 reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to 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."
Democratic Reaction
Opposition lawmakers expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in return for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Dynamics
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 eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several observers indicated that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
