American senators are working through the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as GOP senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Growing Consequences of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the longest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As weekend session got under way, Republican 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 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're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on social media, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop public funds 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 Reaction
Democratic senators shared alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations 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 senior Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the future of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Dynamics
None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Some observers suggested that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals 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 was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
