American senators are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on Americans from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got started, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by HSA-style accounts.
"I am recommending 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 wrote.
Republican Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is similar to 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 suggestion on social media, and displayed a large print 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 public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Reaction
Opposition lawmakers expressed concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another senator responded to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in return for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers indicated that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
