American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure 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 Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the longest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Proposal from Golf Course
As weekend session got under way, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by health savings accounts.
"I am recommending 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.
GOP Support
Several Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on online platforms, 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 wrote 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 Reaction
Opposition lawmakers shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."
Another senator responded to the censure of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Negotiations
The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in return for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted 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 people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with existing health issues.
After his resort visit, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
