Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that she remains opposed to taking up the Senate Republican health care bill because it would hurt some of the people who need care the most.
“This bill would impose fundamental, sweeping changes in the Medicaid program,” Collins said. “Those (changes) include very deep cuts that would affect some of the most vulnerable people in our society, including disabled children, poor seniors. It would affect our rural hospitals and our nursing homes.”
Collins’ comments came after Vice President Mike Pence pledged the bill, which among other things would eliminate enhanced funding for Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion, would ultimately strengthen Medicaid. He and other top administration officials argue that states would gain flexibility to overhaul their traditional Medicaid programs through block grants or per-enrollee caps, allowing them to save money that could be used to stave off losses of coverage.
Collins said Sunday that she saw it “very differently” and pointed out that the bill would lower spending on Medicaid by about three-quarters of a trillion dollars by 2026 compared to current law.
Collins has said she plans to vote against the bill, reiterating the position in the Sunday interview. Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, who has criticized the bill for not being conservative enough, has also said he will vote against the bill.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell needs support from 50 of the 52 GOP senators to advance the bill and cannot pass it if any other Republican comes out against it. Given that razor-thin margin, McConnell announced Saturday evening he would postpone a vote on the bill because Republican Sen. John McCain is recovering from a surgery in his home state of Arizona.
Senate Republicans unveiled a new version of the bill on Thursday. It includes a provision Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz has advocated to allow insurers to offer insurance plans that don’t meet the standards of Obamacare if they also sell policies that comply with the law. Collins said Cruz’s plan was “unworkable,” echoing the language of two leading insurance lobbying groups on Friday.
“I do want to see more flexibility in the insurance market, but Sen. Cruz’s approach is not the answer,” Collins said.
As for efforts to gain her support for the bill, Collins said that while President Donald Trump had not personally lobbied her yet, members of the administration have, including White House chief of staff Reince Priebus.