American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got under way, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by HSA-style 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 posted.
Republican Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is comparable with a alternative 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 stated.
Another senator praised 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 am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Reaction
Opposition lawmakers shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an developing proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in return for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an offer to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before discussing the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the support of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to secure enough support in 2017.
