Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to [email protected]
As the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen.Susan Collins has extraordinary power over the jurisdiction of all discretionary spending for the entire federal government. She deserves to be proud of this achievement. In 2017, Collins along with Sens. Lisa Murkowski and John McCain voted to reject a bill aimed at dismantling the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Today, more than 100,000 Maine citizens are enrolled in Medicaid programs made possible by the Affordable Care Act. The Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill will make drastic cuts to Medicaid and Medicare as well as likely bankrupt some rural hospitals in Maine.
How will it cut Medicare? The increases to the federal deficit inherent in this One Big Beautiful Bill will trigger automatic cuts to Medicare through the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go (PAYGO) Act. Specifically, the bill is estimated to raise the deficit by $2.4 trillion over 10 years, leading to potential Medicare cuts of nearly $500 billion.
Sen. Collins, please vote no on this cruel budget bill. I don’t believe the small changes Collins has proposed can make up for the tragic consequences it will have on the health care of Maine people.
Carole Beal
Blue Hill
