American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As weekend 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 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 Support
Several Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed 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 suggestion on online platforms, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic senators shared concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is 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 senator responded to the criticism of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
