House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., set a timetable for the Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act on Thursday, vowing that it would be ready this year.
"Our legislating will occur this year," Ryan told reporters, according to The Hill. "Our legislating on Obamacare, our repealing and replacing and transitioning, the legislating will occur this year."
Although he doesn't know how long it will take for the repeal bill and the replacement bill to pass, the GOP will have a replacement plan ready before the year's end.
"What date all this gets phased in on is something we do not now know because we're waiting for the Trump administration to be stood up, we're waiting for Tom Price to be confirmed and become the secretary of Health and Human Services," he continued.
Ryan did not confirm if the 20 million people who are provided coverage by Obamacare will remain covered under the Republican plan.
"Look I'm not going to get ahead of our committee process, we're just beginning to put this together," he said. "We haven't even gotten scores from [the Congressional Budget Office] yet on these things."
"But let me say this: Can we in this country have a healthcare system that gives us access to affordable healthcare in this country without a costly government takeover and a death spiral, which Obamacare's giving us? And the answer is yes," Ryan concluded.
Politico reports multiple, unnamed sources within the GOP that confirm the plan will be unveiled sometime this year.