American senators are working through the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as GOP senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump'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 golf course 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 bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump posted.
GOP Endorsement
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic lawmakers expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of carriers by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in return for a future vote on the ACA payments.
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 extend the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers indicated that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals with existing health issues.
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 repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to secure enough support in 2017.
