Senate Republicans Support Trump's Proposal to Overhaul Obamacare

American senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, known as Obamacare.

Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown

The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.

President's Plan from Florida Resort

As weekend session got under way, GOP senators embraced 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.

"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 bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump posted.

GOP Endorsement

Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is similar to a replacement 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 commended Trump's proposal on social media, and stood next to 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 suggestion. "We need to stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."

Opposition Response

Democratic senators shared alarmed reactions to Trump's proposal.

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

Another lawmaker responded to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I applaud your support for Medicare for All."

Ongoing Negotiations

The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an developing proposal from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies.

One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.

Another leading Democratic lawmaker persisted in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.

"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act."

Partisan Situation

Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.

Some observers indicated that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with existing health issues.

After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to secure enough backing in 2017.