House Speaker Paul Ryan on Thursday denied that he or his colleagues in Congress have misled the public about how quickly Obamacare would be repealed and replaced.
“I heard everything from Obamacare will be done on day one, to the spring, to the summer, to the – by the end of the year. And so it’s been all over the map, not just from you, but from other people,” Fox News host Sean Hannity probed Ryan.
“It actually hasn’t been all over the map from us, from me. It has on the map from the press, it’s been all of over the map from rumor mills,” Ryan said. “But from us here in Congress, we’re exactly on the time limit that we laid out for ourselves.”
Hannity asked about recent rumors he said he heard that Republicans in the House and Senate want to “repair” the Affordable Care Act rather than completely redo the healthcare bill.
Ryan said the plan to repeal and replace it is still in effect.
As far as the public’s concerns about the timeliness of doing so, Ryan said the Congressional Budget Office is currently scoring a consensus plan.
Congress, Ryan explained, was forced to wait on moving on healthcare until former Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., was confirmed to Health and Human Services secretary.
An official bill to get the ball moving on healthcare will come in March. Congress has been forced to focus its first two months on repealing Obama administration regulations while it has the legal ability to act.
By early spring, Congress will be finishing two budgets, which “has never been done before,” Ryan added. The three issues are part of the GOP lawmakers’ 200-day plan with President Trump.
“We are exactly on track and on our timeline with our agenda,” Ryan said.
