American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as GOP senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As weekend session got under way, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments 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 posted.
GOP Endorsement
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to a large print 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 public funds from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic senators shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in exchange for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
