American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to end the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on Americans from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As weekend session got started, GOP 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 replaced 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 wrote.
GOP Support
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on social media, and stood next to a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Response
Opposition senators shared alarmed reactions 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 commented. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in return for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
