American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The effect on Americans from the longest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend session got started, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies 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 wrote.
Republican Endorsement
Several Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator commended 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 am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic senators shared alarmed responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal 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: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an developing plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator 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 people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several analysts suggested that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
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 plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
