American senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the longest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got started, 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 health savings 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.
GOP Support
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a alternative 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 suggestion on social media, and displayed 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 insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Opposition senators expressed concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing 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 moderate Democrats to end the closure in exchange for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before discussing the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Situation
Not one 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 replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
