American senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got under way, GOP senators embraced a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by HSA-style accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of 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 posted.
GOP Endorsement
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is similar to a alternative 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 commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic lawmakers shared alarmed responses to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an emerging plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one 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 backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing 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 requirement that insurance companies 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 compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to secure enough backing in 2017.
