American senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got under way, Republican senators welcomed a proposal made on online platforms 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 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 wrote.
GOP Support
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is comparable with 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 praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, 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 must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Response
Democratic lawmakers expressed concerned reactions to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another senator responded to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike 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 finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.
"Inaction is irresponsible because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers indicated that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to secure enough support in 2017.
