American senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as GOP senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend session got under way, GOP senators embraced a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is 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 Support
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward 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 displayed 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 proposal. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic lawmakers shared concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the criticism of insurance companies by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before discussing the future of the tax credits.
"Inaction is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
