Ryan: Charge AHCA Rushed, a 'Bogus Attack From the Left'

House Speaker Paul Ryan on Sunday called the GOP healthcare bill to repeal and replace Obamacare a "rescue operation" – and insisted drastic cuts to Medicaid won't hurt anyone.

In an interview on ABC News' "This Week," the Wisconsin Republican said Obamacare's "micro-management of healthcare is the problem."

Asked by host Andrea Mitchell if he didn't think anyone would be hurt "when you're taking $880 billion out of the system," Ryan replied: "No, no I don't."

"Whenever we have had a waiver… so [a state] can customize, it works better," he said. "We want to give every state the ability to work for the unique needs of their populations. Obamacare says we're going to micromanage this, telling every state and community how it will work. It's failing."

"Medicaid is not working," he continued. "Obamacare is collapsing. People are not getting choices. We have to fix this. This is a rescue operation."

Ryan also said there'd be a 2018 "wave" against Republicans if they don't repeal and replace Obamacare.

"People expect the elected leaders if they run and campaign on doing something, they expect them to do that," he said. "That's what we're doing. Keeping our word. I would argue we would spell disaster for ourselves, politically… for not keeping our word."

Ryan dismissed critics who say the bill was rushed through, calling it "kind of a bogus attack from the left."

"The bill has been on the line for two months...The final version was an amendment that was three pages long," he said. "It takes you 30 seconds to read," adding the GOP bill is under 200 pages long.

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