US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown 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.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got started, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by HSA-style 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 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 similar to a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.
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 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 senators shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in return for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to address 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 concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers suggested that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
