US senators are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as GOP senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown
The effect on Americans from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As Saturday's session got under way, Republican senators welcomed a proposal 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.
"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 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 comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to 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 senators expressed concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is 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 senator reacted to the censure of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing plan from a small group 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 centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before discussing the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
