American senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Plan from Golf Course
As weekend session got under way, GOP senators embraced a proposal made on social media 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 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 posted.
Republican Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and stood next to 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 reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic senators shared alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a future vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation 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 more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to address 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 concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several observers indicated that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump went back 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 version of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
