Congressional Republicans Embrace President's Call to Replace Obamacare

US senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial 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 proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

Growing Impact of Federal Closure

The impact on US citizens from the longest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.

President's Plan from Florida Resort

As Saturday's 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 replaced by HSA-style accounts.

"My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to profit-driven 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.

Republican Endorsement

Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.

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

Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and stood next to 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 response to Trump's suggestion. "We need to 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."

Opposition Response

Democratic senators shared alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.

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

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

Continuing Talks

The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging proposal from a small group of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the ACA payments.

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

Another leading Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies.

"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."

Partisan Dynamics

None of the Republican senators seemed to address 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 repealing and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.

Several analysts suggested that the core of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover individuals with existing health issues.

After his resort visit, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to secure enough support in 2017.