Lawmakers are "very, very close on everything else" in the spending bill, Paul Ryan said during a press conference. | Getty Ryan: Spending bill won't include Obamacare payments

House Speaker Paul Ryan said the spending bill to keep the federal government running won’t include funding for Obamacare’s cost-sharing subsidies.

“CSRs, we’re not doing that," Ryan said Wednesday, referring to the subsidy program that helps reduce out-of-pocket health costs for low-income Obamacare customers. "That is not in an appropriation bill, that’s something separate that the administration does.”


Lawmakers are "very, very close on everything else" in the spending bill, Ryan said during a press conference. Government funding is set to run out after Friday.

Insurers, state regulators and health care groups have urged Congress to continue funding Obamacare's cost-sharing subsidies, warning the law's insurance marketplaces could collapse without them.

The House, which complained the Obama administration illegally funded the subsidies, successfully sued to block the program. But the subsidies continue to flow while the case is on appeal.

If Congress refuses to fund the subsidies, the Trump administration must decide by next month whether to fight the House lawsuit or let the payments end. Trump has often suggested he will use these subsidies as leverage with Democrats on repealing and replacing Obamacare.

Ryan also did not say when the House may reschedule a vote on an updated Obamacare repeal bill, which would allow states to opt out of major Obamacare rules under certain conditions.

