US lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown 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 proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend session 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 ineffective Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump wrote.
Republican Endorsement
Several Republican senators praised the proposal, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal 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 reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Response
Opposition senators shared alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator responded to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an offer to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts suggested that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
