House Speaker Paul Ryan said Wednesday he wouldn’t want to repeat the experience of passing the American Health Care Act, but that it was good for Republicans in the lower chamber.
“I’m glad we went through it,” he said. “I think it was cathartic.”
House Republicans had scheduled a vote on the bill, the American Health Care Act in March, but had to pull it from the floor when they realized they didn’t have enough support for its passage. Conservatives feared it did not go far enough in reducing premiums, while centrists feared projections that showed millions more people would be uninsured in a decade, particularly low-income, older enrollees.
They eventually reached a compromise earlier this month, and the Senate is now debating the details of its own healthcare bill.
“You can’t get everything you want,” Ryan said. “This is clearly better than the status quo, it fulfills our promise and the system is collapsing, we’ve got to do something.”
Ryan, speaking at an event in Washington for Axios, said during the healthcare debate President Trump’s best qualities — his energy and engagement — became evident.
“He gets so deeply engaged on a person-to-person basis to achieve a goal,” Ryan said, adding that he believes Trump carries a lack of pretension.
Asked whether he believed Congress would be able to get a healthcare bill to Trump’s desk, Ryan replied: “I think we can do it.”
