🔗 Share this article

American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown

The impact on Americans from the longest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.

Trump's Proposal from Golf Course

As Saturday's session got under way, GOP senators welcomed a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be replaced by health savings accounts.

"I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of 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.

GOP Support

Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare put forward in 2017.

"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator stated.

Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on social media, and displayed a large print 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 suggestion. "We must stop public funds from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."

Democratic Reaction

Democratic senators shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.

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

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

Continuing Negotiations

The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an developing proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies.

One Democratic senator, who is leading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.

Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the subsidies before discussing the future of the tax credits.

"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."

Political Dynamics

None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.

Several analysts suggested that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.

After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to secure enough backing in 2017.