American senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend meeting 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 government payments to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to profit-driven 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 wrote.
GOP Endorsement
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on social media, and displayed 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 reply 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 health care they want."
Opposition Response
Opposition senators shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another senator responded to the censure of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown 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 rejected 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 one-year extension of the payments 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's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Situation
None 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 backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
