American senators are working through the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As Saturday's meeting got started, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the 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.
GOP Endorsement
Multiple 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 consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in response to Trump's proposal. "We need to 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 Response
Opposition lawmakers shared concerned reactions to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator responded to the criticism of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an developing proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in exchange for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several analysts indicated that the essence of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
