Paul Ryan schools ABC News host during testy exchange on GOP plan to replace Obamacare

An exchange between House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos on ABC "This Week" became testy on Sunday when the two went back-and-forth over the Obamacare repeal and replace legislation the House passed last week.

During the exchange, Stephanopoulos charged that the legislation, the American Health Care Act, will hurt millions of Americans, especially the vulnerable with pre-existing conditions.

But Ryan disagreed adamantly.

"Under this bill, no matter what, you cannot be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition," Ryan explained. "Nor under this bill you cannot only not be denied coverage, you can't be charged higher—"

"But you can charge people more," Stephanopoulos interrupted.

"Let me finish my point," Ryan shot back.

"You can’t charge people more if they keep continuous coverage. The key of having a continuous coverage provision is to make sure that people stay covered and move from one plan to the next if they want to," he explained. "It's kind of like waiting until your house is on fire to then buy your home owner's insurance. You want to make sure that people stay covered to keep the costs down."

Interrupting Ryan again, Stephanopoulos contended that many people often lose their health insurance "through no fault of their own," such as being laid off from their job.

"Let me finish my point, George," Ryan shot back. "I was just getting there until you cut me off."

Ryan explained that the AHCA creates high-risk pools for people with chronic diseases and pre-existing conditions, a solution to reforming the health care system without necessarily removing the pre-existing conditions provision in Obamacare.

However, despite the hard work of Ryan, President Donald Trump and other Republicans in the House, the AHCA is not yet law. It still needs to be approved by the Senate, which will prove to be a difficult task. That's because the Senate is expected to pass their own version of the bill, complicating the law making process.

During the interview, Ryan also hit back at much of the misinformation being spread about the AHCA and blamed Democrats and liberals for spreading many of the lies.

.@SpeakerRyan tells @GStephanopoulos: "Under this bill, no matter what, you cannot be denied coverage if you have a pre-existing condition." pic.twitter.com/m7vXnDpuYR

— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) May 7, 2017