🔗 Share this article Senate Republicans Embrace Trump's Call to Replace Affordable Care Act US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but expectations for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the standoff appeared to diminish as Republican senators floated a plan toxic to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare. Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown The effect on Americans from the longest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were compelled to ground planes and SNAP benefits have been postponed for forty-two million Americans. President's Proposal from Golf Course As Saturday's session got started, Republican senators embraced a suggestion made on online platforms early Saturday by Donald Trump from his golf course in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by HSA-style accounts. "My recommendation is to Senate Republicans that the 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. Republican Support Multiple Republican senators praised the proposal, which is similar to a alternative 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 proposal on online platforms, and stood next to 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 wrote in reply to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to carriers and instead give it straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want." Democratic Reaction Opposition lawmakers expressed concerned responses to Trump's plan. "In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another calculated attempt to eliminate Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been defeated 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? Then I applaud your support for universal healthcare." Ongoing Talks The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging proposal from a handful of moderate Democrats to terminate the closure in return for a future vote on the Obamacare subsidies. One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among moderates, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an proposal to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year. Another senior Democratic lawmaker persisted in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the future of the tax credits. "Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator said in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act." Political Dynamics None of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that patients would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote. Some observers indicated that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with pre-existing conditions. After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.