Sen. Susan Collins: GOP Health Bill Needs a 'Fundamental Overhaul'

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, called for a "fundamental overhaul" of the Republican healthcare plan currently being discussed in the Senate.

"I want to make clear to the Republican leaders that just tinkering with the bill will not be sufficient to win my support," she told a Maine local radio, according to the Washington Examiner.

Collins first announced her opposition to the bill after the Congressional Budget Office release its report earlier this week.

I want to work w/ my GOP & Dem colleagues to fix the flaws in ACA. CBO analysis shows Senate bill won't do it. I will vote no on mtp. 1/3

— Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) June 26, 2017

"The system does need to be reformed," Collins added on WGAN Newsradio.

"I'm opposed to this bill because I don't think it does the job and would make matters worse in many cases."

Collins told reporters on Tuesday, after GOP leaders decided to delay the vote on their healthcare bill, "it's difficult for me to see how any tinkering is going to satisfy my fundamental and deep concerns about the impact of the bill," she said, according to The Boston Globe.

The Globe notes that Collins, who has admitted to considering a run for governor next year, may be wary of supporting a bill that is unpopular with voters.

President Donald Trump only won one electoral vote from Maine in 2016, overall the state went to Democrat Hillary Clinton.

When asked what Republicans can do to get the bill passed, she said, "It's going to be very difficult to thread the needle, there's no doubt about it . . . I think the answer is to have some public hearings, bring in experts. This is enormously complex . . . when you change one part, [of the healthcare system] it has a ripple effect."

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