US lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a proposal toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend meeting got started, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on social media 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 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 wrote.
Republican Endorsement
Several Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed 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 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 reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Response
Opposition lawmakers expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in return for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining 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 sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Dynamics
None 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 backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several analysts indicated that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his residence and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
