US senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to end the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened 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.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting 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 health savings accounts.
"I am recommending 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.
Republican Support
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a alternative 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 praised Trump's suggestion on social media, and stood next to 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 response to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money 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 Response
Opposition senators expressed alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
