US lawmakers 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 impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got under way, Republican senators welcomed a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.
"I am recommending 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 posted.
GOP Support
Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, 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 need to stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Response
Opposition senators shared alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another senator responded to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage 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 savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers suggested that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
