American senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got under way, GOP senators welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking 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 praised the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the consumer," 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 wrote in response to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Reaction
Opposition senators expressed concerned responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another senator responded to the censure of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the closure in return for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts indicated that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club 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 backing in 2017.
