American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on US citizens from the longest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As Saturday's session got started, Republican senators welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by health savings accounts.
"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to profit-driven 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 Support
Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on social media, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Response
Democratic lawmakers expressed alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept 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 lose insurance, people will get more ill," 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 patients would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some observers suggested that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to secure enough backing in 2017.
