American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as GOP senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history deepened 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 Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got started, GOP senators embraced a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by HSA-style accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the 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.
GOP Support
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and stood next to a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed 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 insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Response
Opposition senators shared alarmed reactions 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 commented. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the closure in exchange for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens 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
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated 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 private club and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
