Congressional Republicans Back Trump's Call to Replace Affordable Care Act

American senators are meeting during the weekend for the initial 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 recede as GOP senators floated a proposal unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.

Deepening Impact of Government Shutdown

The effect on Americans from the lengthiest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went without pay, airlines were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for 42 million Americans.

Trump's Plan from Florida Resort

As weekend meeting got started, GOP senators embraced a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by health savings 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 bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump posted.

GOP Endorsement

Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is similar to a alternative for Obamacare proposed in 2017.

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

Another senator commended Trump's suggestion on online platforms, and displayed a giant blow-up of Trump's post as he addressed on the Senate floor.

"I am drafting the bill right now," a third senator posted in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We need to stop public funds from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."

Democratic Reaction

Democratic lawmakers expressed concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.

"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is yet another cynical attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by voters and Congress."

Another senator responded to the censure of carriers by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."

Continuing Negotiations

The Senate adjourned without finding a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an openness to an developing proposal from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in exchange for a future vote on the ACA payments.

One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among moderates, said that Democrats "need another path forward" after Republicans rejected an proposal to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.

Another senior Democratic senator persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the payments before negotiating the future of the subsidies.

"Inaction is derelict because citizens will go bankrupt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is 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 lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.

Some analysts indicated that the core of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.

After his resort visit, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a version of the plan that was unsuccessful to secure enough backing in 2017.