© 2024 Maine Public | Registered 501(c)(3) EIN: 22-3171529
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Scroll down to see all available streams.

As Senate Prepares For Vote, Susan Collins Says She ‘Simply Cannot Support’ Health Care Plans

The U.S. Senate is expected to vote on health care next week, though it’s unclear whether they’ll take up a revised version of their bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act or a bill that would just repeal the health care law.

Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine says she doesn’t support either. Speaking to reporters on Friday, she referenced the findings of Congressional Budget Office report on the repeal-only bill.

“That would lead to 32 million people losing health insurance coverage. So I simply cannot support that approach,” she says.

And as for a plan to repeal and replace the ACA, Collins says she’s still opposed, citing drastic cuts to Medicaid.

“You don’t take a safety net program that has been law for more than 50 years and change it in fundamental ways without having a single hearing,” she says.

Collins says she does support a bipartisan approach to fix the Affordable Care Act, and says she’s already discussing next steps with both Democrats and Republicans.