US lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.
Growing Consequences 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 forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.
President's Plan from Golf Course
As Saturday's meeting got under way, GOP senators embraced a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by HSA-style 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
Several Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.
"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator said.
Another senator commended Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.
"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."
Opposition Reaction
Opposition lawmakers shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.
"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress."
Another senator reacted to the censure 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 welcome your support for Medicare for All."
Continuing Talks
The Senate adjourned without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.
One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.
Another senior Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the future of the tax credits.
"Inaction is derelict because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."
Partisan Situation
Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.
Several observers suggested that the core of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies 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 eliminate and replace Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough support in 2017.