Senate Republicans Embrace Trump's Proposal to Overhaul Obamacare

American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over 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 unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare.

Growing Consequences 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 ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.

Trump's Proposal from Florida Resort

As weekend meeting got started, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort 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 bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump wrote.

Republican Support

Multiple Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.

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

Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.

"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it directly to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."

Democratic Reaction

Opposition lawmakers shared alarmed responses to Trump's proposal.

"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."

Another lawmaker reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Well, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."

Ongoing Negotiations

The Senate went into recess without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an emerging plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in return for a later vote on the ACA subsidies.

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

Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.

"Doing nothing is irresponsible because citizens will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."

Political 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 legislators need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.

Several observers suggested that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.

After his resort visit, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to secure enough backing in 2017.