American senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal 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 Impact of Federal Closure
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 cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Golf Course
As Saturday's meeting got under way, GOP senators welcomed a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced 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.
Republican Endorsement
Several Republican senators praised the proposal, 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 suggestion on social media, and stood next to a giant blow-up 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 carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Reaction
Democratic senators expressed alarmed reactions 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 commented. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in exchange for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the subsidies 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 stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
