American senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend session got started, GOP senators welcomed a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Billions of Dollars currently being sent to profit-driven 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.
GOP Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on social media, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's proposal. "We must stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Response
Opposition lawmakers expressed concerned reactions to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in return for a future vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept 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 sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several analysts suggested that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
