US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The effect on Americans from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Plan from Golf Course
As weekend 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 government payments to be substituted by health savings 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 Support
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on social media, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic senators shared alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Inaction is irresponsible because citizens will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several observers indicated that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
