Congressional Republicans Support Trump's Proposal to Replace Obamacare

US lawmakers are working through the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

Growing Impact of Federal Closure

The impact on US citizens from the longest shutdown of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.

Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort

As weekend session got under way, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on social media 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 Endorsement

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

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

Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.

"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator wrote in response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."

Democratic Reaction

Democratic lawmakers expressed concerned responses to Trump's proposal.

"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."

Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."

Ongoing Negotiations

The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare payments.

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

Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the tax credits.

"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."

Partisan Situation

None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the idea of repealing and substituting Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Some analysts suggested that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.

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