US senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Golf Course
As Saturday's session got under way, Republican senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media 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 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 wrote.
Republican Support
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on online platforms, 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 posted in reply to Trump's proposal. "We must stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Reaction
Democratic lawmakers expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an emerging plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
