🔗 Share this article Congressional GOP Support President's Proposal to Overhaul Obamacare US senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. Deepening Consequences of Federal Closure The impact on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans. Trump's Proposal from Golf Course As weekend session got under way, Republican senators welcomed a proposal made on online platforms 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 Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking 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. Republican Support Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare proposed in 2017. "We're going to replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the consumer," one senator said. Another senator commended Trump's proposal on social media, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he addressed 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 carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want." Democratic Response Opposition senators shared alarmed reactions to Trump's plan. "Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress." Another senator responded to the censure of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All." Ongoing Talks The Senate adjourned without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging plan from a small group of moderate Democrats to end the closure in return for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies. One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year. Another leading Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should accept a one-year extension of the subsidies before negotiating the long-term of the tax credits. "Inaction is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act." Political Situation None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of several Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote. Several observers indicated that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions. After his golf outing, Trump went back to his residence and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to secure enough support in 2017.