(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary TomPrice wouldn’t say whether the Trump administration still supports repeal ofthe Affordable Care Act, days after his party’sefforts to overhaul the law broke down.

“We find ourselves right now in a position that the currentsystem is not working,” Price said Wednesday in a Housesubcommittee hearing, when asked repeatedly whether theadministration is aiming to repeal the ACA. “We have to fix theproblem.”

Price and other members of the administration will play acrucial role in the success or failure of the ACA, also known asObamacare, over the coming year.

Decisions on whether to encourage people to sign up during theenrollment period later this year and how to enforce the law’srequirement that all people buy insurance coverage could eitherbolster or undermine the program.

Pressed by Representative Mark Pocan, a Democrat fromWisconsin, on whether the administration still wants to repeal thelaw, Price said: “What we’re trying to do is make sure individualshave access to coverage and care.”

Mixed signals

Republicans have sent mixed signals about their intentions forObamacare. Even as President Donald Trump says the law is“exploding,” he’s said he’s ready to work with Democrats onhealth-care legislation.

On Tuesday, some House Republicans said they were still lookingfor ways to resurrect their failed effort to repeal and replace the ACA. Press secretary Sean Spicersaid the White House is in an “ongoing discussion” with HouseRepublicans to try to gain a majority on health legislation.

“We’re not going to create a deal for the sake of creating adeal,” he said Wednesday. “You got to know when to walk away.”

Stuck in neutral, Price and the rest of the Trump administrationfind themselves responsible for a law they’ve repeatedly called afailure. Meanwhile, Democrats in Congress are looking forreassurance that the administration won’t sabotage the healthcoverage program, and will instead work with them to improveit.

“We would welcome your sincere interest in bipartisan work toimprove quality, lower costs, and expand coverage,” 44 SenateDemocrats wrote in a letter to Trump released Wednesday asking himto stop efforts to repeal the ACA. “We urge you to use yourexecutive authority to support a stable, competitive insurancemarketplace.”

‘On the books’

Price wouldn’t say whether he’d commit to encouraging people tosign up for ACA plans, which the Obama administration had pushedheavily. The Trump administration pulled some outreach in the finaldays of the 2017 sign-up season, a move that’s been blamed forhurting enrollment.

Insurers “aren’t certain given the current construct of the lawthey are going to be able to continue to provide coverage forfolks,” Price said. “We want to make sure that every American hasaccess to affordable coverage, whatever we can do to make thathappen.”

During the hearing, held by the House Subcommittee on Labor,Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, Pricewas also questioned about enforcement of the law’s requirement forindividuals to be insured.

“So long as the law is on the books we at the department areobliged to uphold the law,” he said.

HHS budget

The wide-ranging hearing was held to address the budget for HHS,the agency that oversees the National Institutes of Health, theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention, the Medicare programfor the elderly and the Medicaid program for the poor.

The administration has proposed $1.23 billion in cuts toresearch funded by NIH this fiscal year, as part of Trump’s wideragenda to reduce non-military spending and increase support for thearmed forces. Trump has already proposed cutting biomedicalresearch at the NIH by $5.8 billion next fiscal year, or about 18percent. The administration has requested $65.1 billion for theDepartment of Health and Human Services in fiscal 2018, down from$84.6 billion in 2016.

Other programs targeted by the administration for 2017 cutsinclude a worldwide initiative to help people with HIV and AIDSknown as PEPFAR that focuses on patient treatment in Africa.Congress has the final say on spending levels, and theadministration’s proposals are unlikely to become law.

Tom Cole, the Republican congressman from Oklahoma who chairsthe subcommittee, said at the start of the hearing that he’shesitant to reduce investment in cutting-edge biomedical researchand voiced support for controlling disease in Africa.

“I’d much rather fight Ebola in West Africa than in WestDallas,” he said. “Defense is generally important. These things arepart of the defense of the country and its development too.”

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