Collins says 'no' but GOP leaders still pushing Graham-Cassidy

Courtesy / Office of Sen. Susan Collins U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, announced Monday that she would vote "no" on the latest Obamacare-repeal bill sponsored by Republican U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Bill Cassidy, R-La.

Write a Comment

By Staff

A last-ditch effort by the White House and Republican leadership to repeal Obamacare by a looming Sept. 30 deadline might well have been killed by U.S. Sen. Susan Collins’ announcement on Monday that she won’t support either version of the health care bill sponsored by U.S. Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Bill Cassidy, R-La.

Collins joins fellow Republican Sens. John McCain of Arizona and Rand Paul of Kentucky in stating that she’ll vote “no” on the Graham-Cassidy bill. Under budget reconciliation rules that expire Sept. 30, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell needs 50 votes for passage. If the White House and Republican leadership can’t win back one of those three, the bill won’t move forward. Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Ted Cruz of Texas also have not yet announced full support of the Graham-Cassidy bill.

In a public statement issued Monday, Collins said she had three major concerns with both the version of Graham-Cassidy under review last week and a new version put together over the weekend, which had promised 43% more federal funding for Maine than under Obamacare, according to Becker’s Hospital Review.

Collins described that as a misleading promise because it fails to acknowledge the impact of Medicaid cuts called for in the bill.

“The fact is, Maine still loses money under whichever version of the Graham-Cassidy bill we consider because the bills use what could be described as a ‘give with one hand, take with the other’ distribution model,” she stated. “Huge Medicaid cuts down the road more than offset any short-term influx of money. But even more important, if senators can adjust a funding formula over a weekend to help a single state, they could just as easily adjust that formula in the future to hurt that state. This is simply not the way that we should be approaching an important and complex issue that must be handled thoughtfully and fairly for all Americans.”

Here’s what else Collins had to say about the two versions of Graham-Cassidy:

“Both proposals make sweeping changes and cuts in the Medicaid program. Expert projections show that more than $1 trillion would be taken out of the Medicaid program between the years 2020 and 2036. This would have a devastating impact to a program that has been on the books for 50 years and provides health care to our most vulnerable citizens, including disabled children and low-income seniors.”
“Both bills open the door for states to weaken protections for people with pre-existing conditions, such as asthma, cancer, heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes. Some states could allow higher premiums for individuals with pre-existing conditions, potentially making their insurance unaffordable. States could also limit specific categories of benefits for Affordable Care Act policies, such as eliminating coverage for mental health or substance abuse treatment.”
“Physicians, patient advocates, insurers, and hospitals agree that both versions of this legislation would lead to higher premiums and reduced coverage for tens of millions of Americans.”

Pence appears on Maine radio talk show

Vice President Mike Pence appeared on a Maine radio talk show today stating the Trump administration is “certainly disappointed” by Collins’ refusal to support the latest Obamacare repeal effort.

The Bangor Daily News reported that Pence told WGAN Radio that the administration hoped Collins’ “no” vote wouldn’t kill the Graham-Cassidy bill.

Collins reiterated her earlier criticisms of the Republican leadership’s rushed approach to repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act.

“Health care is a deeply personal, complex issue that affects every single one of us and one-sixth of the American economy,” she said. “Sweeping reforms to our health care system and to Medicaid can’t be done well in a compressed time frame, especially when the actual bill is a moving target. Today, we find out that there is now a fourth version of the Graham-Cassidy proposal, which is as deeply flawed as the previous iterations. The fact that a new version of this bill was released the very week we are supposed to vote compounds the problem.

“The Affordable Care Act has many flaws that need to be addressed. The current state of health insurance, where premiums are skyrocketing, choices are limited, and small businesses are struggling, needs fixing. My focus will remain on remedying these problems.”