American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The effect on Americans from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Golf Course
As weekend meeting got under way, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by HSA-style accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Billions of Dollars currently being sent to profit-driven 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.
Republican Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Response
Opposition senators expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another senator responded to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and extend 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 long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is 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 support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his residence and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
