🔗 Share this article Congressional GOP Support President's Proposal to Replace Affordable Care Act American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the first time since the federal closure began more than a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. Growing Impact of Federal Closure The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, airlines were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans. President's Plan from Florida Resort As Saturday's session got started, GOP senators welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced by HSA-style 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 posted. Republican Endorsement Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017. "We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," 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 am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in response to Trump's proposal. "We must stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want." Democratic Response Opposition lawmakers shared concerned reactions to Trump's proposal. "Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another cynical attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress." Another lawmaker responded to the censure of insurance companies by writing: "Well, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for Medicare for All." Ongoing Negotiations The Senate went into recess without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an emerging proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the shutdown in return for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies. One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and extend the subsidies for a year. Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the long-term of the tax credits. "Doing nothing is derelict 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." Partisan Dynamics None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican legislators need the backing of eight Democrats to restart 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 essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's mandate 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 compromise and try instead to repeal and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the proposal that was unsuccessful to garner enough backing in 2017.