<P> In House committees, Democratic representatives offered more than 100 amendments to the legislation, including amendments that "would have required the law to guarantee no one would lose insurance, hospitals would not see an increase in uncompensated care, the deficit would not increase, taxes would not go up on people making less than $250,000, and that people over 55 years old would not lose benefits or pay higher out - of - pocket costs ." Democratic Representative Joe Crowley of New York offered an amendment that during the 2010 Affordable Care Act debate had been proposed by Republican Representative Kevin Brady of Texas, requiring "that the bill be posted online for 72 hours before any votes were taken on it, and that every member put a statement in the Congressional Record stating he or she had read the bill ." All of these Democratic amendments were rejected, as Brady (the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee) ruled that the amendments were "not germane" to the bill, and the Republican majority repeatedly upheld these rulings . </P> <P> In the days leading up to the vote, which was originally scheduled for March 23, 2017, there was increased division among House Republicans over the replacement, causing concerns among Republican Party leadership over having the votes needed to pass the bill . Among Republican defectors from the bill, the largest opposition came from members of the House Freedom Caucus, which consists of some of the most conservative members in the House . The Freedom Caucus members, among their primary objections to the bill, were not convinced that the healthcare replacement effectively abolished some elements of the Affordable Care Act, most prominently the essential health benefits . To achieve success in the House, Republicans could not afford more than twenty - one members of their own party voting against the bill, and several days before the vote, dissent within the party, largely from the Freedom Caucus, was a significant threat to its passage . Beyond the conservative members of the Freedom Caucus, there was continued opposition to the bill from more moderate Republicans in the House, such as from members of the center - right Tuesday Group, where there were concerns about loss of coverage and the potential of rising insurance costs . </P> <P> Amid the division between the Republicans, the party leadership, which was led by House Speaker Paul Ryan, attempted to ease concerns among the Freedom Caucus and others . President Trump also held numerous meetings with Republicans in the House leading up to the vote, though after negotiations with the Freedom Caucus over the ACA's essential health benefits, there was still a considerable amount of opposition from moderates and members of the Freedom Caucus alike . On the day of the scheduled vote, which coincided with the seven - year anniversary of the ACA's signing into law, party leadership continued to struggle with getting the required votes for the bill, and the vote was rescheduled for the following day, March 24, 2017, as requested by the White House . </P> <P> The night before the rescheduled vote, President Trump, in a final effort to negotiate with those opposing the bill, announced to the House Republicans that the vote the following day would be their only chance to repeal the Affordable Care Act, a goal long sought after by Republicans in Congress . The following morning the bill was brought to the House floor after being approved by the House Rules Committee for four hours of debate preceding the vote, which was expected in the afternoon . It was reported that a couple hours before the expected vote, Ryan made a sudden visit to the White House to meet with Trump, in which Ryan told Trump that the bill did not have enough votes to pass in the House . Shortly after the time of the expected vote it was announced that the Republicans were withdrawing the AHCA from consideration, a decision made after Ryan met with Trump . Following the withdrawal, Ryan stated in a press conference that the country is "going to be living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future", while Trump said that it was tough to pass the bill without support from Democrats; Ryan and Trump both said they were going to move forward on other policy issues . </P>

Who is writing the republican health care bill