American 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 diminish as Republican senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown
The impact on Americans from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got started, GOP senators welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is 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.
GOP Support
Several 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 praised Trump's suggestion on social media, and displayed 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 posted in response to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic lawmakers expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another lawmaker responded to the censure of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before discussing the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
