🔗 Share this article

US lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown

The effect on US citizens from the longest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were compelled to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.

President's Proposal from Golf Course

As Saturday's session got started, GOP senators welcomed a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort 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 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 wrote.

GOP Support

Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.

"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.

Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to 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 wrote in response to Trump's proposal. "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

Opposition senators shared alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.

"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."

Another senator reacted to the criticism of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare."

Continuing Negotiations

The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an developing proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in return for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.

One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.

Another leading Democratic lawmaker persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the subsidies.

"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."

Partisan Dynamics

None 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 reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Some analysts indicated that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.

After his resort visit, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.