US senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the longest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got started, GOP senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by HSA-style 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.
Republican Endorsement
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a replacement 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 commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to 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 Reaction
Opposition lawmakers shared alarmed responses to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet 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 reacted to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off 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 openness to an emerging plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
