American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the longest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend session got started, GOP senators embraced a proposal 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 Hundreds of 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 posted.
Republican Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to 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 said.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, and stood next to a giant blow-up 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 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."
Democratic Response
Democratic senators expressed alarmed responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator responded to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining 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 citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican legislators need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some observers indicated that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
