US senators are working through the weekend for the initial 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 recede as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the longest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got under way, GOP senators welcomed a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by health savings accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of 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 Endorsement
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, and stood next to a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted in response to Trump's proposal. "We need to stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Response
Opposition senators shared alarmed responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an emerging plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the future 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 Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single 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 residence and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.
