US senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the federal closure 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 plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Federal Closure
The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got under way, GOP senators embraced a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by health savings accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Billions of Dollars currently being sent to profit-driven 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 wrote.
Republican Endorsement
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to 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 wrote in reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Response
Opposition lawmakers shared alarmed responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the closure in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "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 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 substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers indicated that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough support in 2017.
