Congressional Republicans Support Trump's Proposal to Replace Affordable Care Act

American senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to recede as Republican senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.

Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown

The impact on Americans from the lengthiest shutdown of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.

Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort

As weekend meeting got under way, Republican senators welcomed a suggestion made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by HSA-style accounts.

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

Republican Endorsement

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

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

Another senator praised Trump's suggestion 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 public funds 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 shared concerned responses to Trump's plan.

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

Another senator responded to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "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 Talks

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

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

Another leading Democratic senator persisted in arguing 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 sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."

Partisan Situation

Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Several analysts indicated that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.

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