American senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Florida Resort
As weekend 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 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 praised the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted in response to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Democratic Response
Democratic senators shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' 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 rejected by the public and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Continuing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the tax credits.
"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
