US senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Golf Course
As Saturday's meeting got under way, Republican senators welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by HSA-style 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 Support
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.
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 am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop taxpayer money 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
Opposition lawmakers expressed concerned reactions to Trump's plan.
"In other words, 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 unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the tax credits.
"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is 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 carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts suggested that the core of such a proposal would eliminate 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 demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
