US senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got under way, GOP senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms 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 wrote.
Republican Support
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion 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 wrote in reply 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 medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Opposition lawmakers expressed alarmed responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the support of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
