American senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Federal Closure
The effect on Americans from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Golf Course
As weekend meeting got started, Republican senators welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by health savings accounts.
"I am recommending 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 wrote.
GOP Endorsement
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator stated.
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'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Reaction
Democratic lawmakers shared concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator responded to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in return for a future vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," 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 address the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several analysts suggested that the essence of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to secure enough support in 2017.
