American senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing 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 without pay, carriers were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got started, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking 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 similar to a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, 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 suggestion. "We must stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic senators expressed concerned reactions to Trump's plan.
"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 voters and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in return for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "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 patients would still need to buy plans 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 savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
