US senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend session got started, GOP senators welcomed a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is 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 wrote.
GOP Support
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, and displayed 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 must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Reaction
Opposition senators shared alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the closure in exchange for a later vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an offer to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Inaction is derelict because people 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 does nothing."
Partisan Situation
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 lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several analysts indicated that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
