American senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens 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 postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session got under way, Republican senators embraced a suggestion 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.
"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking 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.
GOP Endorsement
Several Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on social media, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Reaction
Democratic senators shared concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator responded to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Political Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of repealing and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
