American senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to diminish as GOP senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, carriers were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
President's Plan from Golf Course
As weekend session got under way, Republican 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 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
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted in response to Trump's proposal. "We must 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 Reaction
Opposition senators expressed concerned reactions to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in return 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 turned down an proposal to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Inaction is derelict because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to address 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 idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts indicated that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to secure enough support in 2017.
