🔗 Share this article

American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown

The effect on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.

President's Plan from Golf Course

As weekend meeting got started, GOP senators welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort 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 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.

Republican Support

Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward 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 online platforms, 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 wrote in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop public funds 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 Response

Opposition lawmakers shared concerned responses to Trump's plan.

"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."

Another senator responded to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."

Ongoing Talks

The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in return for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.

One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an offer to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.

Another leading Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.

"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."

Political Situation

None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.

Several analysts indicated that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.

After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to secure enough backing in 2017.