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 cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown
The effect on Americans from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got under way, GOP senators welcomed a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is 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 wrote.
Republican Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually 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 addressed on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic senators expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with 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 restart the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
