🔗 Share this article Congressional GOP Support President's Proposal to Replace Affordable Care Act American senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare. Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown The effect on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program 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 social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by HSA-style accounts. "I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the 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 wrote. GOP Support Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is comparable with a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017. "We're going to replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator said. Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed a large print 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 taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want." Democratic Reaction Opposition lawmakers shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal. "Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress." Another lawmaker reacted to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare." Ongoing Talks The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an emerging plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies. One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an offer to restart the government and continue the payments for a year. Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the subsidies. "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." Political Situation None 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 several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote. Some analysts indicated 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 private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough support in 2017.