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American lawmakers are meeting during the weekend for the initial time since the government shutdown began more than a month ago, but expectations for a bipartisan agreement on how to end the impasse appeared to diminish as Republican 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 longest shutdown of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as federal workers went unpaid, carriers were forced to cancel flights and SNAP benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.

Trump's Plan from Florida Resort

As Saturday's meeting got under way, GOP senators welcomed a proposal made on social media early Saturday by Donald Trump from his resort in West Palm Beach, for government payments to be replaced 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 bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE," Trump posted.

Republican Endorsement

Several Republican senators praised the plan, which is comparable with a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.

"We will replace this broken system with something that is truly better for the patient," one senator said.

Another senator praised Trump's suggestion on social media, 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 response to Trump's suggestion. "We must stop public funds 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 senators shared concerned responses to Trump's proposal.

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

Another senator reacted to the criticism of carriers by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the big, bad insurance companies are overcharging Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for universal healthcare."

Continuing Negotiations

The Senate adjourned without reaching a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have signaled an openness to an emerging plan from a handful of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the Obamacare subsidies.

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

Another leading Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should agree to a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before discussing the long-term of the subsidies.

"Doing nothing is derelict because citizens 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 does nothing."

Political Situation

Not one of the Republican senators seemed to grapple with the fact that consumers would still need to buy plans from the same insurance companies, or that Republican lawmakers need the support of eight Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of eliminating and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is improbable to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Several observers suggested that the essence of such a plan would remove the ACA's requirement that insurance companies cover patients with existing health issues.

After his golf outing, Trump returned to his residence and doubled down 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 secure enough backing in 2017.