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US lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes for a bipartisan agreement on how to resolve the impasse appeared to recede as GOP senators proposed a plan unacceptable to Democrats: scrapping the Affordable Care Act, called Obamacare.

Deepening Consequences of Government Shutdown

The effect on US citizens from the lengthiest closure of the federal government in history worsened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, airlines were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been delayed for forty-two million Americans.

President's Plan from Golf Course

As Saturday's meeting got started, Republican senators embraced a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be substituted by health savings accounts.

"I am recommending 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 Endorsement

Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a replacement 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 commended Trump's proposal on online platforms, and displayed a large print of Trump's post as he spoke on the Senate floor.

"I am drafting 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 straight to Americans in health savings accounts and let them buy the health care they want."

Opposition Reaction

Opposition senators expressed concerned reactions to Trump's proposal.

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

Another senator reacted to the criticism of insurance companies by writing: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike 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 finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an willingness to an emerging plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to end the closure in return for a future vote on the Obamacare payments.

One Democratic senator, who is leading the negotiations among centrists, said that Democrats "need another way ahead" after Republicans turned down an proposal to reopen the government and continue the subsidies for a year.

Another leading Democratic lawmaker continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a one-year extension of the payments before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.

"Inaction is derelict because people will go into debt, people will lose insurance, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That's what will happen if this Congress does nothing."

Political Situation

Not one 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 legislators need the support of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the concept of repealing and replacing Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a single Democratic vote.

Several analysts suggested that the essence of such a proposal would eliminate the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with pre-existing conditions.

After his golf outing, Trump went back to his private club and reiterated on his insistence that Republicans stop seeking compromise and try instead to eliminate and overhaul Obamacare with a iteration of the proposal that failed to garner enough backing in 2017.