American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the longest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend meeting got started, GOP senators embraced 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 HSA-style accounts.
"I am recommending 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.
Republican Support
Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on social media, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Reaction
Opposition senators expressed concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in return for a future vote on the ACA payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that failed to secure enough support in 2017.
