Collins: 'Difficult' to Envision Scenario Supporting This Healthcare Bill

Sen. Susan Collins — who could be a deciding vote to sink the GOP’s new Obamacare repeal bill — said Sunday "it’s very difficult to envision a scenario" in which she’d support the proposed Graham-Cassidy legislation.

In an interview on CNN’s "State of the Union," the Maine Republican said she will wait to decide until Monday’s analysis by the Congressional Budget Office.

"It’s very difficult for me to envision a scenario where I would end up voting for this bill," she said, adding she had " a number of serious reservations about it," including its impact on Medicaid, "the impact on costs and coverage" and "about the erosion of protections for people with pre-existing conditions."

She said she also worried if the "CBO has been given enough time to thoroughly analyze the bill."

"I don't know whether the CBO analysis will have new information that would change where I'm inclined to head," she said, adding: "I’m going to know tomorrow morning whether or not CBO reinforces the concerns and reservations that I already have…"

The Senate GOP will need at least 50 members to vote "yes" on the bill for it to pass, with Vice President Mike Pence acting as a tie-breaker. Sen. John McCain, R-Arizona, has already announced he would vote "no."

As she has in the past, Collins said she’d prefer for the Senate to "return to the very good work that the Senate Health Committee was doing under the leadership of Senators Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray….

" That's the avenue that we should take."

• GOP Miffed at Rand Paul's Opposition to Graham-Cassidy
• U.S. Bishops Urge Caution on Graham-Cassidy