American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Plan from Golf Course
As Saturday's session 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 subsidies to be replaced by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking 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 posted.
Republican Support
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator commended 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'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's suggestion. "We must 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 Reaction
Democratic lawmakers shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible 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 does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers indicated that the essence of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
