US senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened 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 Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got started, GOP senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies 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
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed 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 wrote 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 health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Response
Opposition senators shared alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the closure in exchange for a future vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
