American senators are working through the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got under way, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by health savings accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of 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.
GOP Support
Several Republican senators praised the proposal, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to 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 stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he spoke 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."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic lawmakers expressed concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in return for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating 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 is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several analysts suggested that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
