Republican efforts to reform the health care system may not be as bleak as as they once seemed.
While the leadership-backed Obamacare repeal legislation was pulled off the floor Friday due to a lack of votes, House Speaker Paul Ryan reportedly told donors Monday a plan to move forward with repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is in the works.
“When we’re in Florida, I will lay out the path forward on health care and all the rest of the agenda,” he told donors on a call leaked to The Washington Post Monday, hinting details of a plan could be available by the donor retreat in Florida at the end of the week. “I will explain how it all still works, and how we’re still moving forward on health care with other ideas and plans. So please make sure that if you can come, you come — it will be good to look at what can feasibly get done and where things currently stand. But know this: We are not giving up.”
Ryan, who has spoken to President Donald Trump multiple times since Friday, will address the members at their conference meeting Tuesday morning.
“We still have a promise to keep, so the speaker wants members to continue discussing this issue until we can find a path ahead,” Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong told The Daily Caller News Foundation in a statement.
The party’s inability to come to a consensus on the legislation was a major set-back for the party, but lawmakers assure they have not given up on moving forward with repealing the Affordable Care Act.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said they “don’t have anything scheduled right now, but we are going to repeal Obamacare.”
“No timeline, we’ll just work and get it done,” he told reporters, adding he anticipates how they should proceed on health care reform to be a “major topic” at their conference meeting.
House Committee on Ways and Means Chairman Kevin Brady, who had not yet heard the details on Ryan’s call with donors, said he believes the fastest route to move forward on repealing the ACA would most likely come from the upper chamber.
“I think the Senate is has the opportunity to mark up their reconciliation instructions and send them to Budget and see if they can get a plan to get a plan to the president’s desk that would allow the House to weigh in,” he told TheDCNF.
The administration encouraged lawmakers to move on to other legislative priorities after the vote was pulled last week, starting with tax reform.
Brady said he anticipates his committee will act on tax reform in the spring.
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