US senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the longest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, carriers were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend meeting got started, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments 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 will replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on social media, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's suggestion. "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."
Democratic Reaction
Opposition senators expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Dynamics
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 reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers suggested that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
