US senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got started, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by health savings 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 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 praised the proposal, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," 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 addressed on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Reaction
Democratic senators expressed concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker 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 citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said 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 eliminating and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
