American senators are working through the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got started, Republican senators welcomed a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of 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.
GOP Support
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, and stood next to a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Response
Opposition senators expressed alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in return for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the future of the tax credits.
"Inaction 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."
Political Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs 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 patients with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the proposal that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
