US senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got started, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms 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 money sucking 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 wrote.
GOP Support
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on social media, and stood next to a giant blow-up 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 suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic senators expressed concerned responses to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same failed 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 can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in return for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the support of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
