US senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on Americans from the lengthiest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got started, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by health savings accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking 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 wrote.
GOP Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Response
Democratic senators expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the tax credits.
"Inaction is irresponsible because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts suggested that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
