US senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the longest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got under way, Republican senators welcomed a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort 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 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 Endorsement
Several Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator commended 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 reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Response
Opposition lawmakers shared concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.
"Inaction is irresponsible because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
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 legislators need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts indicated that the core 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 plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
