AHCA Withdrawn Prior to Vote

Failing to secure sufficient support for their proposed Affordable Care Act (ACA) replacement, Republicans leaders have pulled the American Health Care Act (AHCA) from the House floor, cancelling a scheduled vote on the health care legislation

The House of Representatives was originally set to vote on the AHCA yesterday, but the vote was postponed to this afternoon due to concerns from key Republicans that the bill would lack the necessary votes to pass. In a meeting earlier today with President Trump, House Speaker Paul Ryan indicated that Republican holdouts had yet to rally behind the AHCA, and that the vote was likely to fail as a result.

According to reports, the President may have personally requested that the bill be pulled in response to this meeting.

House Democrats have unanimously rejected the AHCA since it was first introduced, but the bill’s champions have also faced internal opposition from House Republicans who feel that the AHCA is too similar to the ACA, as well as from more moderate Republicans who believe that the bill could leave constituents vulnerable to losing their health insurance.

Medical organizations such as the American Medical Association and the American College of Physicians have also spoken out against the AHCA, criticizing the bill’s proposed rollbacks of the ACA’s Medicaid expansion and its potential to reverse the coverage gains achieved under Obamacare.

Although the future of the AHCA remains uncertain, President Trump previously suggested that the GOP may move on from health care reform should the bill fail to pass.