🔗 Share this article Senate Republicans Support Trump's Proposal to Overhaul Affordable Care Act US lawmakers are working through 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 resolve the standoff appeared to recede as GOP senators floated a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, known as Obamacare. Growing Consequences of Government Shutdown The impact on Americans from the longest shutdown of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were forced to ground planes and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed 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 resort in West Palm Beach, for subsidies to be substituted by HSA-style accounts. "I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the 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. GOP Endorsement Several Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare proposed 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 stood next to a giant blow-up 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 directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want." Opposition Response Democratic lawmakers expressed alarmed reactions to Trump's plan. "In other words, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by the public and Congress." Another senator reacted to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Seriously? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All." Ongoing Talks The Senate adjourned 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 return for a future vote on the Obamacare payments. One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and extend the payments for a year. Another senior Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the tax credits. "Inaction is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator said in a Senate address. "That's what will happen if this Congress fails to act." Partisan Dynamics None of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same carriers, or that Republican lawmakers need the backing of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote. Some analysts suggested that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's mandate that carriers cover individuals with existing health issues. After his resort visit, Trump went back to his private club and doubled down on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to secure enough support in 2017.