US senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Golf Course
As Saturday's session got under way, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion 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.
"I am recommending 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 wrote.
Republican Endorsement
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a replacement 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 stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Response
Opposition senators expressed alarmed responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, 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 responded to the criticism of carriers by writing: "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."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an emerging plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in exchange for a future vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in arguing 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 become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
