American 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 end the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on Americans from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got started, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies 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
Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," 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 wrote in response to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Response
Democratic senators shared alarmed 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 commented. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
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 legislators need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers indicated that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
