House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., insisted healthcare reform is not dead and said talks on a Republican plan to replace Obamacare are continuing.
His comments came during an interview with radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt.
He noted Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., is discussing an amendment to the Republican's healthcare bill that will further protect those with pre-existing conditions, The Washington Times noted.
"Fred Upton's amendment that he's working on is something that nobody has a problem with – and it's actually helping," Ryan told Hewitt. "Fred Upton identified something that he thinks will make the bill better, that is mutually agreed to by people from all parts of our conference.
He said Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., chairman of the conservative Freedom Caucus is also involved in the discussions.
"Mark Meadows…is very involved in this process …knows what's going on," Ryan said. "So what we're doing is listening to our members, finding where that sweet sport of consensus is and driving there."
But Ryan declined to speculate when the healthcare bill would be brought to a vote.
"I have a policy of not commenting when we're going to bring these votes up," he said. "We're getting extremely close. We're having very, very productive conversations with our members.
"And so I feel very good about the progress we're making, and we'll make the announcement when we make the announcement."