US senators 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 end the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As weekend session got started, Republican senators welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by HSA-style 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 Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed 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 wrote in response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic senators expressed concerned responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in return for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Inaction is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the proposal that failed to secure enough backing in 2017.
