American senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to end the impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got under way, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by health savings accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the 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.
Republican Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on social media, and displayed 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 reply to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Reaction
Democratic senators shared alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the core 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 private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
