American senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got started, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by HSA-style accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the 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.
Republican Endorsement
Several Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted in response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Response
Opposition lawmakers expressed concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens 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 does nothing."
Partisan Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several observers indicated that the essence of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.
