Senate GOP Embrace President's Call to Replace Affordable Care Act
American senators are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got under way, 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 substituted by HSA-style accounts.
"I am recommending 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
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on social media, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic senators shared concerned responses to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before discussing the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because people will go into debt, 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 Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single 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 golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough support in 2017.