Congressional Republicans Back President's Proposal to Overhaul Affordable Care Act

US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a proposal toxic to Democrats: scrapping the ACA, called Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure

The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.

President's Plan from Golf Course

As Saturday's meeting got under way, Republican senators welcomed 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 health savings 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 Support

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

"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator stated.

Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.

"I'm writing the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's proposal. "We must stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."

Opposition Response

Opposition lawmakers shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.

"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."

Another senator reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."

Ongoing Talks

The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an developing proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the closure in return for a future vote on the ACA subsidies.

One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to reopen the government and continue the payments for a year.

Another leading Democratic senator continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before discussing the long-term of the tax credits.

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

Partisan Dynamics

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

Several analysts indicated that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions.

After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.