🔗 Share this article

American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown

The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, airlines were forced to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.

President's Plan from Golf Course

As Saturday's meeting got started, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies 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 ineffective Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump wrote.

GOP Support

Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.

"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator stated.

Another senator praised Trump's proposal on social media, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.

"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."

Democratic Reaction

Opposition lawmakers expressed concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.

"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."

Another senator responded to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome 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 plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in return for a later 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 proposal to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.

Another leading Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the future of the tax credits.

"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."

Partisan Dynamics

None 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 restart the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.

Some observers indicated that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.

After his resort visit, Trump went back to his residence and reiterated 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 backing in 2017.