US lawmakers are working through the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got under way, GOP senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies 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.
Republican Support
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic senators shared alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the closure in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
