|
 The most moderate of Republican senators joined John McCain and Rand
Paul in rejecting the bill to end Obamacare. It was a major blow for
President Donald Trump who has made undoing Democratic former
President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law a top priority
since the 2016 campaign and who pressured Collins in a call on
Monday.
The bill's sweeping cut in funding to Medicaid, a program for low
income citizens and disabled children, was her top reason for
opposing the bill, said Collins, from the state of Maine where 20
percent of the population depend on the program.
"To take a program that has been law for more than 50 years, and
make those kinds of fundamental structural changes ... and to do so
without having in depth hearings to evaluate the impact on our most
vulnerable citizens was unacceptable," Collins said outside the
Senate chambers.
She also opposed the bill for weakening protections for people with
pre-existing conditions, such as asthma, cancer and diabetes.
Collins' decision came even after the sponsors of the bill, Senators
Lindsey Graham and Bill Cassidy, offered a boost in federal health
care funds of 43 percent for Maine and benefits for states with
other undecided senators.
Republicans have vowed to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, or
Obamacare, since it was passed in 2010. While it extended health
insurance to some 20 million Americans, they believe it is an
unwarranted and costly government intrusion into healthcare, while
also opposing taxes it imposed on the wealthy.
Republicans hold a slim 52-48 majority in the Senate and are up
against a tight September 30 deadline to pass a bill with a simple
majority, instead of the 60-vote threshold needed for most measures.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wanted to hold a vote this
week, but it is not clear he will do so now that three senators have
said they will cast "no" votes.
Graham dismissed notions that the bill was the last chance for
Republicans to get rid of Obamacare and pledged to keep working on
the legislation.
$1 TRILLION CUT TO MEDICAID
Democrats kept up their pressure for killing the bill. In an evening
speech on the Senate floor, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer
said, "The Trumpcare bill would gut Medicaid, would cause millions
to lose coverage, cause chaos in the marketplace."
Schumer said once repeal of Obamacare is off the table, Democrats
want to work with Republicans "to find a compromise that stabilizes
markets, that lowers premiums."
Collins and McCain, who voted against the last major repeal effort
in July, have both advocated for a bipartisan solution to fixing the
parts of Obamacare that do not function well.
U.S. hospital stocks were down across the board as the bill
struggled. Shares of HCA Healthcare Inc and Tenet Healthcare Corp
were hit particularly hard, falling 2.5 percent and 5.7 percent,
respectively, on Monday.
"The Graham-Cassidy bill is looking to reduce funding for Medicaid
in the longer term," said Jefferies analyst Brian Tanquilut. "That
is a benefit that we have seen improve the earnings outlooks for
these hospitals."
[to top of second column] |
Collins announced her opposition shortly after the non-partisan
Congressional Budget Office said that the number of people with
health insurance covering high-cost medical events would be slashed
by millions if it were to become law.
CBO also found that federal spending on Medicaid would be cut by
about $1 trillion from 2017 to 2026 under the Graham-Cassidy
proposal, and that millions of people would lose their coverage in
the program, mainly from a repeal of federal funding for Obamacare’s
Medicaid expansion.
The Trump administration, including Health Secretary Tom Price had
lobbied her hard in recent days, Collins said.
“The president called me today, the vice president called me in
Maine over the weekend, Secretary Price has called me, it would
probably be a shorter list of who hasn’t called me about this bill,”
she said.
Trump had not called Collins before the vote in July.
PROTESTERS IN WHEELCHAIRS
The Senate held its first hearing all year on the proposed Obamacare
repeal on Monday, but it was immediately disrupted by protesters who
forced Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch to postpone its
start by about 15 minutes.
Police arrested 181 demonstrators, including 15 in the hearing room.
The protesters, mainly from a disability rights group and many of
whom were in wheelchairs, were forcibly removed one-by-one from the
hearing room as they yelled, "No cuts to Medicaid, save our
liberty." The hearing eventually proceeded for about five hours, but
protests could be heard outside for more than an hour.
Television talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, who had become part of the
debate on U.S. healthcare legislation in May after discussing his
newborn son's heart surgery, had taken aim at the bill in recent
days. On Monday he tweeted: "Thank you @SenatorCollins for putting
people ahead of party. We are all in your debt."
A new CBS poll released on Monday said that a majority of Americans,
or 52 percent, disapprove of the Graham-Cassidy bill, while 20
percent approve. The poll was taken between Sept. 21 and 24.
(Reporting by Susan Cornwell and Richard Cowan; Additional reporting
by Timothy Gardner, Philip Stewart, Makini Brice, Amanda Becker and
Alistair Bell in Washington and Caroline Humer in New York; writing
by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Bill Trott and Mary Milliken)
[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
