American lawmakers 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 diminish as GOP senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the lengthiest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines 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 government payments to be substituted by health savings 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 wrote.
Republican Support
Several Republican senators praised the proposal, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Response
Opposition senators expressed concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Talks
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 future vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
