US lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend meeting got started, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by HSA-style accounts.
"I am recommending 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 posted.
Republican Endorsement
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward 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 proposal on online platforms, and stood next to a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Reaction
Opposition senators shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another senator responded to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in return for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Situation
None 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 support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts suggested that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
