American senators are working through the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown
The effect on Americans from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got started, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by health savings 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 bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump posted.
Republican Endorsement
Several Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator commended 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 suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic lawmakers shared concerned responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the future of the tax credits.
"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Dynamics
Not one 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 legislators need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and substituting 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 carriers cover patients with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his residence and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
