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US senators are working through the weekend for the first time since the government shutdown began over a month ago, but hopes 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 Impact of Government Shutdown

The impact on US citizens from the longest closure of the US government in history deepened on Saturday, as government employees went unpaid, carriers were compelled to cancel flights and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits have been postponed for 42 million Americans.

Trump's Plan from Golf Course

As weekend meeting got started, Republican senators welcomed a proposal made on social media 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 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 wrote.

GOP Support

Multiple Republican senators welcomed the proposal, which is similar to a replacement for Obamacare put forward in 2017.

"We will replace this failing program with something that is actually better for the consumer," one senator said.

Another senator praised Trump's proposal on online platforms, and stood next to a large print 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 straight to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the health care they want."

Opposition Reaction

Opposition senators shared alarmed reactions to Trump's plan.

"Essentially, Donald Trump's 'concept of a plan' for health care is yet another calculated attempt to repeal Obamacare," one Democratic senator stated. "It's the same unsuccessful Republican plan that's been rejected by the public and Congress."

Another senator responded to the censure of insurance companies by posting: "Oh, Trump and the Republicans dislike how the large insurance companies are ripping-off Americans. Really? In that case I applaud your support for Medicare for All."

Continuing Talks

The Senate adjourned without finding a resolution, but Senate Republican leaders have indicated an willingness to an emerging plan from a small group of centrist lawmakers to terminate the shutdown in exchange for a later vote on the ACA payments.

One Democratic senator, who is spearheading the talks among centrists, said that Democrats "require another path forward" after Republicans turned down an offer to restart the government and continue the subsidies for a year.

Another leading Democratic senator continued in maintaining that Republicans should accept a 12-month continuation of the subsidies before negotiating the future of the subsidies.

"Doing nothing is derelict because people will go into debt, people will become uninsured, people will get more ill," the senator stated in a floor speech. "That is what will happen if this Congress fails to act."

Partisan 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 backing of several Democrats to reopen the government, and the idea of repealing and substituting Obamacare with savings accounts is unlikely to earn a solitary Democratic vote.

Several observers suggested that the essence of such a plan would eliminate the ACA's requirement that carriers cover individuals with pre-existing conditions.

After his resort visit, Trump returned to his private club and reiterated on his demand that Republicans stop seeking agreement and try instead to repeal and replace Obamacare with a version of the plan that failed to secure enough backing in 2017.