Trump on ACA repeal: 'Maybe it'll take until some time into next year'

President Donald Trump pushed back the timeline for repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA), saying it could take until 2018 and calling the process “very complicated” in a Feb. 5 interview with Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly.

"I would like to say by the end of the year at least the rudiments, but we should have something within the year and the following year,” Trump said.

The pace of repeal efforts have notably slowed from the more ambitious timetables offered after Trump’s election victory. Republicans in Congress had initially self-imposed a deadline to repeal parts of the law which deal with the federal budget by the end of January. House Speaker Paul Ryan has indicated he wants to move ahead with a similar effort by the end of March.

Compared to Trump’s comments, however, more conservative Republicans are eager to move forward with a quicker repeal.

“I don't know that there's any new revelations that are going to come up by waiting 60 to 90 more days,” U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-North Carolina, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, told CNN. "We're making the whole idea of repeal and replacement far more complex and laborious than it needs to be and I think it's time that we just make some decisions and move forward with (the repeal bill)."

Trump did take action on the ACA on his first day in office, directing departments within the executive branch (which would include HHS) to grant as many exemptions as possible to the law’s individual mandate.

But the quicker pace of repeal came with serious warnings about its impact on healthcare organizations and consumers. Under a plan to remove parts of the law by budget reconciliation, with no replacement ready, uncompensated care costs could rise by $1.1 trillion and insurance premiums could double by 2026 as younger customers leave the risk pool.

That plan has also riled up political opposition. POLITICO reported several Republican congressmen have faced angry town hall crowds when holding constituent events on repealing the ACA.