US lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As Saturday's meeting got under way, GOP senators welcomed a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Billions of Dollars currently being sent to profit-driven 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 Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, 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 must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Reaction
Opposition lawmakers shared alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in return 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 turned down an proposal to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," 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 patients would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the essence of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his residence and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
