US senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend session got started, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort 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 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 wrote.
GOP Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on social media, 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 reply to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic senators shared alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, 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."
Partisan Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.
