US senators are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got under way, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course 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 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
Several Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on social media, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted in response to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Response
Opposition lawmakers shared alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an emerging proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "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 coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of repealing and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement 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 plan that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
