US lawmakers are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as GOP senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the longest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Golf Course
As Saturday's session got started, Republican senators welcomed 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 HSA-style accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of 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.
Republican Endorsement
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, 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 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 Response
Democratic lawmakers shared concerned responses to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an developing proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to secure enough backing in 2017.
