US lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to end the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Growing Impact of Government Shutdown
The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
President's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got under way, GOP senators embraced a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced 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 bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump wrote.
GOP Endorsement
Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."
Opposition Response
Democratic senators expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."
Another senator responded to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an offer to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.
"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."
Partisan Dynamics
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some analysts suggested that the core 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 residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.
