American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over 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 Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got started, Republican senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the 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
Several Republican senators praised 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 truly better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on social media, 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 proposal. "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 Response
Opposition lawmakers expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an emerging proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before discussing the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts 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 patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that failed to secure enough support in 2017.
