American senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As weekend session 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 subsidies to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to profit-driven Insurance Companies in order to save the ineffective Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump wrote.
Republican Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion 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 posted in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Response
Opposition senators shared concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in return for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the tax credits.
"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies 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 proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
