American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on Americans from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, carriers were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got started, GOP senators welcomed 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 health savings accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Billions of Dollars currently being sent to profit-driven 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 replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed 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 posted in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Response
Opposition senators expressed concerned responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator responded to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats 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 way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people 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 fails to act."
Partisan Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers 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 single Democratic vote.
Several analysts suggested that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
