WASHINGTON — A proposal to revive the stalled Republican health care bill is gaining support, Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday, but he stopped short of saying the plan has garnered the votes the GOP would need to finally push the high-profile measure through the House.
Ryan spoke to reporters after leaders briefed rank-and-file Republicans on details of changes to the legislation aimed at breathing life back into one of President Donald Trump's priorities. While there are indications that the revisions appeal to conservatives, some of them were still balking.
"We think it's very constructive" Ryan said of the proposed revisions. "I think it helps us get to consensus."
The proposed changes would let states get federal waivers to some coverage requirements President Barack Obama's law imposed on insurers. Republicans want to repeal much of that statute.
Meanwhile, bipartisan talks on a separate $1 trillion budget bill aimed at preventing a partial government shutdown Saturday were jarred over a disagreement about payments made to insurers under Obama's health care law.
Both sides have been saying they were making strong progress toward a deal that would prevent a shuttering of federal agencies, after Trump abandoned his demand that the measure include money for his proposed wall with Mexico.
Ryan and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., are wrestling over a Democratic demand that the must-pass spending bill keep money flowing under the health care law that helps low earners pay out-of-pocket medical costs.
Pelosi is insisting on addressing those payments Trump threatened to cut them off as a negotiating chip. But Ryan told reporters that "we're not doing that."
Read Thursday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.