Speaker Paul Ryan says GOP’s health-care fight isn't over
House Speaker Paul Ryan is not yet ready to throw in the towel on repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act despite his party's failed attempts this year to bring comprehensive health-care legislation to President Trump's desk.
In an interview on "Face the Nation" with CBS News' John Dickerson, Ryan expressed a continued desire to pass legislation, to remedy Republicans' overriding distaste with Obamacare, which Ryan believes has uprooted insurance markets, increased prices and limited choices, especially for those living in rural parts of the country.
"Forget about the politics, that doesn't really matter. What matters is, are we improving people's lives and are we solving problems or not?" said Ryan after giving a town-hall style meeting about tax reform at a Pennsylvania factory. "The country entrusted us, the Republicans, with control of the House, you know, marginal control of the Senate, because it's a tight margin, and the presidency. So I do think we have to get back at this."
The speaker expressed his frustration about the Senate's inability to advance any form of legislation that would reform Obamacare, one version of which has already passed in the House.
When asked about a March "Face the Nation" interview in which he backed up President Trump's prediction of a "bloodbath" if Congressional Republicans fell short of its seven-year goal of repealing Obamacare, Ryan said, "Look, we said we would do this." He continued, "What's frustrating for us in the House is we did do it, and it hasn't gotten out of the Senate. I actually think we're going to have to go back at it next year, for -- not because of political reasons."
Ryan provided his short list of reasons for needing to "go back at" former President Obama's landmark domestic legislative achievement by citing concerns raised by both Democrats and Republicans: "premiums are going up, insurers are pulling out."
"So we just got to get back at this and find a solution that works, although the Graham Cassidy Bill (the Senate's most recent attempt at healthcare reform, which failed to earn enough support from republicans to earn a vote last week), was a good solution," Ryan said. "It gives states the ability to customize -- policies to help their-- their citizens. So I really think we've just got to keep going at this, John, until we get it right."
