Congressional Republicans Back President's Call to Replace Obamacare

US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the federal closure began over a month ago, but hopes for a cross-party deal on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as Republican senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: eliminating the ACA, called Obamacare.

Growing Impact of Federal Closure

The impact on Americans from the lengthiest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went without pay, carriers were forced to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.

President's Plan from Golf Course

As weekend meeting got started, Republican senators welcomed 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.

"I am recommending 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 welcomed the proposal, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.

"We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the patient," one senator stated.

Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on online platforms, 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 suggestion. "We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the medical coverage they want."

Democratic Reaction

Democratic lawmakers expressed concerned reactions to Trump's plan.

"In other words, Donald Trump's 'proposal' for health care is another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator commented. "This is the same failed Republican plan that's been defeated by voters and Congress."

Another senator responded to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans can't stand how the big, bad insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Seriously? Then I welcome your support for universal healthcare."

Continuing Negotiations

The Senate adjourned without reaching a solution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to end the shutdown in return for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.

One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "require another way ahead" after Republicans rejected an offer to reopen the government and extend the subsidies for a year.

Another senior Democratic lawmaker continued in arguing that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before negotiating the future of the tax credits.

"Doing nothing is irresponsible because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get sicker," the senator stated in a Senate address. "That is what will happen if this Congress does nothing."

Political Dynamics

Not one of the Republican senators seemed to address the fact that consumers would still need to buy coverage from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to restart the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with HSAs is improbable to earn a single Democratic vote.

Several analysts indicated that the essence of such a proposal would remove the ACA's requirement that carriers cover patients with existing health issues.

After his golf outing, Trump went back to his residence and doubled down on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and replace Obamacare with a iteration of the plan that failed to garner enough support in 2017.