US senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Golf Course
As Saturday's session got under way, GOP senators embraced a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by health savings accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking 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 posted.
Republican Support
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted in response to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Response
Opposition senators expressed alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator responded to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
