American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to end the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, carriers were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend meeting got under way, Republican 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.
"I am recommending 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.
GOP Endorsement
Several 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 truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money 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 Response
Democratic senators expressed alarmed responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an emerging proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in exchange 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 rejected an offer to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
