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 recede as GOP senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got under way, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced 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 ineffective Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump posted.
GOP Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted 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."
Opposition Reaction
Democratic lawmakers shared alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same failed 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 big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.
"Inaction is irresponsible because people will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his residence and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
