US senators are meeting during the weekend for the first 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 floated a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got started, Republican senators welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced 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 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 praised the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on online platforms, 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 response to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic lawmakers shared concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"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 rejected by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in return for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said 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 grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the support of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
