US lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.
Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure
The effect on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.
Trump's Plan from Golf Course
As weekend 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.
"I am recommending 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 Endorsement
Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and stood next to 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 reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to 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."
Opposition Reaction
Democratic lawmakers shared alarmed responses to Trump's plan.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike 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 went into recess without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.
Another leading Democratic lawmaker persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Inaction is derelict because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Political Dynamics
Not one 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 legislators need the support of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Some observers suggested that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his residence and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.
