US lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got under way, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by HSA-style accounts.
"My recommendation is 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 Support
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed a large print 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 proposal. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Response
Opposition lawmakers expressed concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in exchange for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Situation
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 lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals 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 compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
