American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Golf Course
As Saturday's session got under way, Republican senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media 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 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 posted.
GOP Support
Several Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed a giant blow-up 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 proposal. "We need to stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic lawmakers expressed concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading 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 persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.
"Inaction is irresponsible because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals 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 eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the proposal that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
