US lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Golf Course
As Saturday's meeting got started, GOP senators embraced a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by HSA-style 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.
Republican Endorsement
Several Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator stated.
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'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's proposal. "We must 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."
Opposition Response
Opposition lawmakers expressed alarmed reactions 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 failed Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in return for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several observers indicated that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his demand 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 backing in 2017.
