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 bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.
Deepening Impact of Federal Closure
The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort
As Saturday's meeting got started, Republican senators embraced a suggestion 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 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 posted.
GOP Support
Multiple Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator stated.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.
"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Democratic Response
Democratic senators shared concerned responses to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate adjourned without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an emerging plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in exchange for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits.
"Inaction is irresponsible because people will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," 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 address the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing 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 indicated that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals with existing health issues.
After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.
