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 impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got started, GOP senators welcomed 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 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 wrote.
GOP Support
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on social media, 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 response to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic senators expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in return for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
