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 impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Plan from Golf Course
As weekend session got under way, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the 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 wrote.
Republican Support
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised 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 am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic lawmakers expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients 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 concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to secure enough backing in 2017.
