US senators are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend meeting got under way, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by health savings 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 bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump posted.
Republican Support
Multiple Republican senators welcomed 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 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 suggestion. "We need to stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Reaction
Opposition senators 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. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.
"Inaction is irresponsible because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Situation
Not one 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 legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea 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 pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
