🔗 Share this article

American lawmakers are working through the weekend for the first 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 diminish as GOP senators proposed a plan toxic to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

Growing Impact of Government Shutdown

The effect on US citizens from the lengthiest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.

Trump's Plan from Golf Course

As weekend session got started, GOP senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by health savings 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 posted.

Republican Support

Multiple Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.

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

Another senator praised Trump's suggestion 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 wrote in reply to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."

Opposition Response

Democratic senators expressed concerned responses to Trump's proposal.

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

Another lawmaker responded to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I welcome your support for universal healthcare."

Continuing 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 closure in exchange for a later vote on the ACA payments.

One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.

Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the future of the tax credits.

"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is 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 plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.

Some analysts indicated that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.

After his resort visit, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to garner enough support in 2017.