Collins a ‘no’ on latest healthcare draft

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), one of the most outspoken GOP opponents of the chamber’s ObamaCare repeal-and-replace bill, said she will vote no on a motion to proceed to the bill.

“My strong inclination and current intention is to vote no on the motion to proceed,” she told reporters after leaving a Thursday briefing on the Senate GOP’s latest ObamaCare replacement draft. 

“The only way I’d change my mind is if there’s something in the new bill that wasn’t discussed or that I didn’t fully understand, or the [Congressional Budget Office] estimate comes out and says they fixed the Medicaid cuts, which I don’t think that’s going to happen.” 

She said if the bill fails, the next step should be working with Democrats on changes through a committee process. 

{mosads}”I have been involved in crafting very complicated legislation for a long time, and my experience has been when you go through a committee process the bill gets vetted, you hear from experts, you get good ideas.” 

Senate Republican leaders on Thursday unveiled a revised version of their healthcare reform bill as they head toward a high-stakes vote next week.

The bill largely keeps the Medicaid sections the same, meaning that deeper cuts to the program will still begin in 2025, and the funds for ObamaCare’s expansion of Medicaid will still end in 2024.

The latest version of the measure includes changes aimed at winning over additional votes, with leadership making concessions aimed at bringing both conservatives and moderates on board.