🔗 Share this article

US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown

The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.

Trump's Plan from Florida Resort

As Saturday's session got started, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort 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 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 Support

Multiple Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.

"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.

Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on social media, 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 posted in reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to 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."

Opposition Response

Democratic lawmakers expressed concerned responses to Trump's plan.

"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."

Another senator reacted to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."

Continuing Talks

The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the closure in exchange for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.

One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.

Another leading Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.

"Inaction is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."

Partisan Dynamics

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 lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.

Some observers indicated that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.

After his resort visit, Trump returned to his residence and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to secure enough support in 2017.