US 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 resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact 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 ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got under way, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by health savings 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 posted.
GOP Support
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will 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 giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Reaction
Opposition lawmakers shared concerned responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in return for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the core of such a proposal 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 reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
