Augusta, Maine – In case you missed it, today Maine Democratic Party Chair Charlie Dingman joined health care advocates to mark the historic 60th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid, discuss the devastating impacts of Republicans’ dangerous budget bill that made drastic cuts to health care, and call out Susan Collins’ “decades-long record of voting to cut Medicaid and Medicare.”

Speakers also highlighted Collins’ recent “key” “pivotal vote” to greenlight the advancement of Republicans’ dangerous budget bill that makes deep cuts to Medicaid, will rip away health care from more than 61,000 Mainers, force thousands of Maine fishermen to lose their MaineCare, and force Maine hospitals to shut down.

See some key moments:

• Maine Democratic Party Chair Charlie Dingman: “Senator Collins had an opportunity to stop this legislation, exercise the power that she has asserted she has, and protect Mainers – she decided not to. She voted to allow the bill to proceed so that it could be voted on.”

• State Rep. Mike Brennan: “Both Senator Murkowski from Alaska and Senator Collins recognized the fact that rural hospitals were going to be adversely affected by the bill passed by Congress […] We’ve already seen in the last year hospitals shutting down significant parts of the services they’re providing because they don’t have the amount of revenue and compensation to keep those services open.”

• Protect Our Care State Director Toby McGrath: “Senator Collins decided to advance that bill. You know, there’s this idea that ‘oh, it’s just a process. Anyone would have done that.’ Well, if you actually believe that you want to vote against legislation, why would you not take the step to vote from advancing it […] She’s trying to have it both ways, as usual.”