Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Key Republican Collins has 'serious concerns' on healthcare bill

Published 06/25/2017, 10:52 AM
Updated 06/25/2017, 10:52 AM
© Reuters. U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) arrives to talk to the media on the president's FY2018 budget proposal on Capitol Hill in Washington

© Reuters. U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) arrives to talk to the media on the president's FY2018 budget proposal on Capitol Hill in Washington

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine said on Sunday she has extreme reservations about the U.S. Senate's healthcare overhaul and does not think it will be able to pass this week.

Collins, a moderate Republican who has not taken a formal stance on the bill, said she was concerned it would cut Medicaid too deeply and said she wants to see an upcoming analysis by the Congressional Budget Office before making a decision.

"I have very serious concerns about the bill," she said on ABC's "This Week" program. "It's hard for me to see the bill passing this week."

Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has pushed for a vote before the July 4th Independence Day holiday recess that begins at the end of this week. He can afford to lose the support of only two Republicans in the face of unanimous Democratic opposition.

Five Republican senators have announced they will not support the bill, which is designed to repeal and replace Obamacare, in its current form.

One of those senators, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, called on Sunday for a slowdown in the process to give the Senate and the public time to evaluate the healthcare bill.

"We don't have enough information. I don't have the feedback from constituencies who will not have had enough time to view the Senate bill. We should not be voting on this next week," he said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Another senator who has announced that he does not support the current version of the bill, Rand Paul of Kentucky, said he would back it if the Senate reached an impasse on healthcare.

"If we get to impasse, if we go to a bill that is more repeal and less big government programs, yes I’ll consider partial repeal," Paul said on ABC.

The Senate's 142-page proposal, worked out in secret by a group led by McConnell, aims to deliver on a central campaign promise of President Donald Trump to undo former President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, which has provided coverage to 20 million Americans since it was passed in 2010.

Republicans view the law, formally known as the Affordable Care Act, as a costly government intrusion and say individual insurance markets created by it are collapsing.

"I think they have, at best, a 50-50 chance of passing this bill," Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York said on ABC. He said Democrats "are doing everything we can to fight this bill because it's so devastating for the middle class."

The House of Representatives has passed a measure similar to the Senate plan. The Senate would phase out Obamacare's expansion of the Medicaid program for the poor more gradually than the House bill, waiting until after the 2020 presidential election, but would enact deeper cuts starting in 2025.

© Reuters. U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) arrives to talk to the media on the president's FY2018 budget proposal on Capitol Hill in Washington

Latest comments

Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.