Senate GOP Support President's Proposal to Overhaul Obamacare

US senators are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the standoff appeared to recede 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 Americans from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans.

President's Proposal from Florida Resort

As Saturday's session got under way, 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 replaced 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 ineffective Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump wrote.

GOP Support

Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017.

"We're going to replace this failing program with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator said.

Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on social media, 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 posted in reply to Trump's proposal. "We must stop taxpayer money 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."

Democratic Response

Democratic lawmakers shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.

"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' 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 the public and Congress."

Another lawmaker responded to the censure of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All."

Ongoing Negotiations

The Senate went into recess without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an developing proposal from a handful 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 "require another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and continue the payments for a year.

Another senior Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the future of the subsidies.

"Inaction is derelict because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get sicker," the senator said in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."

Partisan Dynamics

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 legislators need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.

Some analysts suggested that the core of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.

After his golf outing, Trump returned to his private club and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that was unsuccessful to secure enough support in 2017.