Senate Republican Susan Collins Raises Concerns Over Medicaid Cuts in Trump’s Bill
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, expressed concerns about the nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts included in President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” during an appearance at the Global Health Innovation Forum at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Speaking on September 14, Collins warned that the cuts, set to take effect in 2027, could harm Americans’ access to healthcare and predicted growing pressure on Congress to revise the legislation as its impacts become evident.
Concerns Over Medicaid Cuts and Healthcare Access
Collins, one of three Senate Republicans who voted against the bill in June alongside Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., highlighted the potential consequences for states like Maine, where 31% of residents rely on Medicaid.
She noted that the cuts, projected to reduce Medicaid funding by $930 billion to $1.1 trillion over a decade and potentially leave 10 to 12 million Americans uninsured, could lead to increased uncompensated care for hospitals as patients seek emergency room treatment without coverage.
“I’m just very concerned that people who need the care aren’t going to get it,” Collins said, emphasizing that states, even wealthy ones, lack the resources to fill the funding gap.
She predicted that as the public sees the effects of reduced healthcare access, including delayed treatments and sicker patients, Congress will face “tremendous pressure” to amend the law.
Impact on Rural Hospitals
Collins raised specific concerns about the bill’s impact on rural hospitals, noting that Maine has 32 such facilities, with five at risk of closure due to insufficient Medicaid reimbursements and population shifts.
She had raised objections before the bill’s 29-hour Senate vote-a-rama, providing Republican leaders and the White House with a list of 10 concerns, including the impact on rural healthcare.
“We have five that are teetering on the brink of closure because they’re already in trouble, because the Medicaid reimbursements are not high enough, and also because of population changes,” she said.
Collins and Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., secured a $50 billion rural hospital fund to mitigate some effects of the cuts, and she vowed to press Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Director Mehmet Oz to expedite the distribution of these funds.
Support for Other Bill Provisions
While opposing the Medicaid cuts, Collins supported other provisions in the bill, such as extending Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and strengthening Medicaid work requirements. She argued that while there should be efforts to trim the costs of Medicaid and Medicare, the scale of the proposed cuts would hurt Americans.
Collins noted that she was a “hard no” on the bill unless changes were made, but the legislation passed 51-50 with Vice President J.D. Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
