American senators are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the longest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got started, GOP senators welcomed 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 health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to profit-driven 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.
GOP Support
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on social media, and displayed 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 medical coverage they want."
Democratic Response
Democratic senators expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a floor speech. "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 coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support 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.
Some analysts indicated that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his demand 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.
