American senators are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The effect on Americans from the lengthiest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Golf Course
As weekend meeting got started, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by health savings 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.
GOP Support
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's proposal. "We must stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic senators expressed concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
