American senators are working through the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Golf Course
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 subsidies to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of 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
Several Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Reaction
Opposition senators shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in return for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several observers indicated that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his private club and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
