American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens 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 delayed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
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 replaced by HSA-style accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the 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.
Republican Support
Several Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion 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 response to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Response
Opposition lawmakers shared alarmed responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's 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: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts indicated that the essence of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.
