© Johns Hopkins Medicine
US Congress will repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, in 2017, as soon as President-elect Donald Trump's official cabinet is confirmed, US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan said in a briefing on Thursday.
"Our legislating on Obamacare will occur this year," Ryan said. "What date all of this gets phased in, it is something we do not know because we are waiting for the Trump administration to be stood up. We are waiting for Tom Price to be confirmed and become the secretary of health administration services."
Ryan noted that it is still unclear how long it will take for the healthcare market to stay in place and to adjust to the changes.
On Wednesday, Vice President-elect Mike Pence stated that the new Congress should focus on designing a healthcare system that would expand competition among insurance companies as a solution to ever rising costs to consumers.
Obamacare, outgoing President Barack Obama's signature health reform initiative, relies on government-run exchanges in which insurance companies sell policies to individuals and families that lack employer-provided health insurance plans.
Congressional Republicans have made the repeal of the ACA a priority since it was first passed in 2011. President-elect Donald Trump has cited the legislation as one of his administration's top priorities when he takes office later this month.
Approximately 30 million people in the United States could lose health coverage if Obamacare is partially repealed, the Urban Institute said in a report in December.
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