Democratic super PAC attacks Collins over Medicaid cuts — The Hill
In the US state of Maine, the Democratic super PAC Senate Majority PAC has launched an advertising campaign against Republican Senator Susan Collins. In the ad, the organization links the closure of about a dozen maternity centers in the state to Medicaid cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, The Hill reports.
Senate Majority PAC, which supports Democrats’ efforts to win a Senate majority, plans to spend $2 million airing the ad in Maine. It claims that Medicaid cuts are leading to the closure of obstetric and maternity wards and that women will have to travel an hour or more to a hospital in an emergency.
Collins’ vote
Democratic representatives say Collins helped advance the bill at the initial stage of its consideration in the Senate. The version of the document whose procedural advancement she supported included provisions for Medicaid cuts. The senator later voted for amendments intended to remove those cuts from the bill’s text.
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During the final vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Collins was among the few Republicans who opposed the bill. She explained this by citing concerns about reduced health coverage under Medicaid.
The senator’s position
Collins’ supporters and staff note that even if she had voted against the procedural advancement of the bill, Vice President JD Vance could have secured its passage with a tie-breaking vote. They also emphasize that the Medicaid cuts provided for by the law have not yet taken effect.
Collins said she did not vote for Medicaid cuts and rejected the bill specifically because of its provisions concerning the program. She referred to an explanation from MaineHealth, which linked maternity care problems to low birth numbers, difficulties in recruiting relevant specialists, reimbursement issues and demographic factors. According to The Hill, PolitiFact previously called false claims that Collins supported Donald Trump in cutting Medicaid.
