Trump 'Just Killed' Paul Ryan's Obamacare Repeal-And-Delay Strategy

Putting pressure on Republicans in Congress, Donald Trump said the Affordable Care Act will be repealed and replaced “simultaneously” after his pick for U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Dr. Tom Price, is confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

The statement Wednesday at Trump’s first press conference since his Nov. 8 election victory over Hillary Clinton comes as Republicans in Congress are still trying to figure out whether to replace the law immediately or over several years . The ACA, signed into law in 2010 by President Barack Obama, has expanded health coverage to more than 20 million Americans.

“We will be filing a plan,” Trump told reporters about his Obamacare replacement. “It will essentially be simultaneously.”

Trump offered no details on what the ACA replacement would look like or whether it would continue to provide coverage for those who receive it via insurance companies on public exchanges or via 31 states that went along with the ACA’s expanded Medicaid program. In previous interviews, Trump has said he will continue certain aspects of the ACA like the inability of insurers to deny coverage for people with pre-existing health conditions. Trump also wants children to stay on their parents' health plans until they are 26 years old.

Health insurers including Aetna , Anthem , Cigna and UnitedHealth Group have been put in limbo as they wait to see what Congress and the Trump administration have in mind should any repeal end subsidized coverage for Americans who've gained private individual coverage or benefits from expanded Medicaid.

It's unclear what U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan has in mind to replace the ACA with but he has said a future replacement will offer more choices and cost Americans less. There have been no comprehensive health plans introduced this year by the GOP in Congress.

Meanwhile, Trump "just killed the Republican Congressional Leadership's 'repeal and delay' approach to Obamacare," Families USA said of the President-elect's statement at his press conference.

“This presumably ends the Republican congressional leadership’s irresponsible attempt to repeal the ACA without any guidance about what would replace it," Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, said. "This no doubt reflects the growing concerns among many people, including a growing number of Republicans, about the dangers of the ‘repeal and delay’ approach."