American senators are working through the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got under way, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by health savings 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 bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump posted.
GOP Support
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a replacement 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 commended Trump's proposal on social media, 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 posted in response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to 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 Reaction
Democratic senators shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical 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 criticism of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in return for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" 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 discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"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's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several analysts indicated that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
