US senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got started, GOP senators welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort 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 posted.
GOP Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on social media, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Response
Opposition lawmakers shared concerned reactions to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in return for a future vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to secure enough support in 2017.
