American senators 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 end the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Deepening 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 ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
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.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of 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 wrote.
Republican Support
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on social media, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Reaction
Democratic lawmakers shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in exchange for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before discussing the long-term 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 Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers indicated that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
