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 resolve the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Plan from Golf Course
As Saturday's meeting got started, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking 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.
Republican Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, and stood next to a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply 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."
Democratic Response
Democratic senators shared 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 commented. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and extend the payments 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 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."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
