American 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 Republican senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend meeting got under way, Republican senators embraced a suggestion 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.
"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 plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed a large print 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 must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Response
Democratic senators expressed concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical 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 carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a future vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.
