US senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as GOP senators floated a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got started, GOP senators embraced a proposal made on social media 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 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 wrote.
GOP Support
Several Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's proposal. "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 Reaction
Opposition lawmakers expressed concerned responses to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
