American senators are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As Saturday's meeting got started, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by health savings 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 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 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 consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, 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 posted in reply to Trump's proposal. "We must stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic lawmakers shared alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," 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 grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers indicated that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
