🔗 Share this article

US senators 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 impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, known as Obamacare.

Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown

The effect on US citizens from the longest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.

President's Proposal from Golf Course

As weekend meeting got under way, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.

"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the 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.

Republican Endorsement

Several Republican senators welcomed the plan, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.

"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator said.

Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed 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."

Democratic Response

Opposition lawmakers shared alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.

"In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."

Another lawmaker responded to the censure of carriers by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad 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 signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in return for a future vote on the ACA payments.

One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year.

Another leading Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.

"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."

Political 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 legislators need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Several observers suggested that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.

After his resort visit, Trump returned to his residence and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.