Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) on Wednesday said she thinks House Republican leadership’s bill to repeal and replace Obamacare will face significant opposition in the Senate.
“I do not think it would be well-received in the Senate,” she told Yahoo News’ Katie Couric when asked if the bill was dead on arrival in the chamber.
Collins did note that the bill is a “work in progress,” and said that the legislation is better than a previous draft she saw. But she said she would like to see the Congressional Budget Office’s assessment of the bill’s cost before voting on it, and called on Congress to slow down its timeline for repeal.
“I want us to slow down and take more time to be sure we get this right,” she told Couric.
She added that she has several qualms about the legislation, noting that some analyses show millions could lose their health insurance and that the plan could raise costs for older Americans. Collins also expressed concern about the way the bill rolls back spending on Medicaid.
“I’m still looking at the bill, but I have a lot of concerns about it,” she said.
Asked about conservatives who oppose the tax credits laid out in the House bill, Collins argued that the credits are necessary.
“We should be trying to help very low-income afford health insurance,” she said.
