Chairman of the Freedom Caucus U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), who today said that Republicans still lack the votes to pass a reform bill to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system, walks in a hallway of the Rayburn Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 2, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. House of Representatives Freedom Caucus said on Tuesday that Republicans still lack the votes to pass a reform bill to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system.

Representative Mark Meadows of North Carolina, who heads the conservative caucus that helped block passage of the previous Republican healthcare bill, said Republicans were still “a handful of votes away” from being able to pass a reform bill.

Top aides to President Donald Trump have predicted the House would move this week to overhaul the U.S. healthcare system.