American senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal 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 Government Shutdown
The effect on Americans from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights 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 welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is 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 plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on social media, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Opposition senators expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator responded to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a floor speech. "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 insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some observers suggested that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
