US lawmakers are working through the weekend for the first 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 Federal Closure
The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.
President's Plan from Florida Resort
As Saturday's session 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 subsidies to be substituted by health savings accounts.
"My recommendation is 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 plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said.
Another senator praised Trump's proposal 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 posted in response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to 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."
Opposition Reaction
Democratic senators expressed concerned reactions to Trump's plan.
"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated 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 lawmaker reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."
Ongoing Talks
The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of moderate Democrats to end the closure in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.
One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an offer to restart the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.
"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Situation
None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.
Several analysts indicated that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.
After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.
