American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on Americans from the longest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got started, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted 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 ineffective 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 plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop public funds 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."
Opposition Response
Democratic lawmakers expressed alarmed responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another senator responded to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in return for a future vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.
"Inaction is irresponsible because citizens will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
