I was watching CNN around 7:20 pm eastern time, when there was a news flash showing  House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy leaving a meeting. He shouted out to the reporters that he has the votes and a vote will be held tomorrow 5/4/17 to pass their AHCA Bill.

Update on 5/4/17: The Republicans passed Trumpcare through the U.S. House of Representatives on 5/4/17 where 217 republicans voted in favor of it; only about 20 republicans opposed it.

Here’s background details…

On 5/3/17, Sean Sullivan, Paige Winfield Cunningham and David Weigel of the Washinton Post penned the following post, “Republicans plan health-care vote on Thursday, capping weeks of fits and starts.”

Excerpts:

“House Republican leaders said Wednesday (5/3/17) that they plan to bring their controversial plan to revise key parts of the Affordable Care Act to a vote on Thursday (5/4/17), capping weeks of fits and starts in their attempt to fulfill a signature campaign promise.”

“”The flagging Republican effort to reshape the nation’s health-care system picked up steam Wednesday, as GOP leaders tried to address concerns about people with preexisting medical conditions. But independent analysts remained skeptical that the new proposal would fully address the needs of at-risk patients who receive coverage guarantees under the Affordable Care Act.”

“Republican leaders huddled in the office of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) Wednesday evening to figure out the next steps after a whirlwind day at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. Several said they would hold a vote this week only if they felt certain it could pass — meaning they now believe they have the votes.”

“Rep. Fred Upton (R-Mich.) an influential Republican, was putting the finishing touches on his proposal to provide more financial assistance — $8 billion over five years — to people with preexisting medical conditions. Those people are at risk of losing protections under the GOP plan, which seeks to repeal and replace major parts of the ACA.”

“Long said Trump called him Tuesday afternoon. The two had a “good give and take,” he said and Trump grew “a little angry” when he said he could not support the bill. But eventually, he said, they came to an agreement on his amendment.”

“Rep. Billy Long (R-Mo.), who like Upton was against the bill earlier this week because of preexisting conditions, was also in the White House meeting. Now supportive of the bill, he cautioned: “There’s still work to be done on the votes, I believe.”

“Under the GOP plan, states could opt out of the parts of the ACA, meaning that people with preexisting conditions could be denied coverage or charged more. Such states would have to set up high-risk pools to absorb some of the costs.”

“But some experts doubted that $8 billion was enough to aggressively address those costs. According to an analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation, the temporary high-risk pool created by the ACA covered just 100,000 people; the government paid out $2 billion in subsidies to that pool in one year.”

“Far more people with preexisting conditions are likely to lose health coverage under the GOP health-care plan—some estimate around 5 million—and depending on how many states apply for the funds, $1.6 billion a year could be spread thin.”

“For subsidies to cover 68 percent of enrollees’ premium costs, as ACA tax credits do now in the individual market exchanges, the government would have to put up $32.7 billion annually,” wrote Emily Gee, a health economist at the progressive Center for American Progress, in an analysis of the Republican plan. “Even after applying that subsidy, high-cost consumers would still owe $10,000 annually toward premiums.”

“It remained unclear whether all states would be able to apply for the newly proposed funding, or just states where patients with preexisting conditions could be charged higher premiums. Under a separate proposed amendment to the bill from Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.), which convinced many conservatives to sign onto the bill, states could apply for a federal waiver from a ban on insurers charging those patients more.”

“Even if the bill clears the House, it will face a steep climb in the Senate, where there is widespread disagreement among Republicans about how to proceed on health-care.”

“Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.), a moderate seen as a top Democratic target in 2018, was jawboned several times by party whips and told reporters that he could be convinced to move from no to yes.”

“Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.), who represents a swing district in suburban Denver that voted for Hillary Clinton, offered mixed reviews in a written statement.”

“If House Leadership will work to tighten protections for those with preexisting conditions, I’m a yes on sending this bill to the Senate for further consideration,” he said in a statement Wednesday. “If not, I’m a no, and we’ll go back to the drawing board.”