American senators 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 GOP senators floated a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As Saturday's session got under way, GOP senators welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is 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.
GOP Support
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually 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'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted in response to Trump's proposal. "We must stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Response
Opposition senators expressed alarmed responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the closure in return for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the future of the subsidies.
"Inaction is derelict because citizens 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 fails to act."
Political Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
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 overhaul Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.
