US senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the longest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got started, GOP senators welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is 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 wrote.
Republican Support
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on social media, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Reaction
Opposition lawmakers expressed alarmed responses to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, 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 future vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his residence and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.
