Augusta, MAINE – In the wake of Senator Susan Collins’s stunning broken promise to Mainers, the Maine Democratic Party is correcting the record on the dizzying spin she put forward to try to explain away her failure.
Below you will find the original statement Senator Collins released jointly with Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) as an effort to justify her mistake. The Maine Democratic has taken the editorial liberty to revise the statement (in red below) to better reflect reality. MDP has also exercised the liberty to return the statement to being solely from Senator Collins, since Senator Lamar Alexander – the poor fellow – is throwing himself under the bus in a seemingly noble, but nonetheless sad, effort to provide cover to Senator Collins.
In case you missed MDP’s reaction to Senator Collins’s original statement, you can also read that HERE.
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Alexander, Collins Statement on Bills to Lower Health Insurance Premiums
WASHINGTON, December 20 – United States Senators Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) today jointly released the following statement:
“Rather than considering a broad year-end funding agreement [I know I originally said these bills should pass before the tax bill[1], but I’m hoping you will forget] as we expected I was promised, and in return, promised the people of Maine[2]], it has become clear that Congress will only be able to pass another short-term extension to prevent a government shutdown and to continue a few essential programs. [This is happening because, despite being in office for 20 years, I failed to realize that the agreement I reached with Majority Leader McConnell to pass both the stabilization bill and reinsurance bill in exchange for my vote on the tax bill was completely unenforceable in the House of Representatives[3]],” said the Senators Collins.
“For this reason, we I have asked Senator McConnell not to offer this week our legislation which independent analysts Avalere and Oliver-Wyman say would reduce premiums by about 20 percent for the 9 million Americans who have no government subsidies to help them buy insurance in the individual market. [In the name of complete transparency, however, I should point out that other independent analyses – including from the Center on Budget Policy and Priorities and the Maine Center for Economic Policy – have concluded that my bills would not do nearly enough to compensate for the damage I have done by voting to repeal the individual mandate.[4]] Instead, we will offer it after the first of the year when the Senate will consider the omnibus spending bill, the Children’s Health Insurance Program reauthorization, [Yeah, oops, sorry Maine kids – that’s not happening this year either[5]] funding for Community Health Centers, and other legislation that was to have been enacted this week.
“Also, in order to succeed, our legislation must be bipartisan, and the Senate Democratic leader said on Tuesday that Democrats would not support it in the current environment even though as recently as October he said that all Democrats would. [To be fair, though, I should also point out that the other primary author of the stabilization bill, Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington, has repeatedly said that her bill was never intended to serve as a trade-off for the repeal of the individual mandate.[6] I am also choosing to willfully ignore the simple fact that, even had Democrats in the Senate supported the passage of the bill to fix the problem I helped create, conservative members in the House of Representatives had pledged to remove it and send it back to the Senate[7] – so, in the end, Senate Democrats aren’t really to blame here. Just me.]
“There is every reason to believe [I really, really hope] that these important provisions can and will be delivered as part of a bipartisan agreement. And Majority Leader McConnell has told us that he will uphold his commitment to schedule and support the legislation. [I know -- I took his commitment and then turned around and told everyone I expected the bill to be passed[8] but now I am walking that back to just say that he committed to schedule a vote and support it. See what I did there?]
“Americans with no government subsidy for health insurance have seen their premiums more than double on average over the last five years, making health care unaffordable for millions of people [I know that I am ignoring the fact that millions of people have also experienced lower premiums – many of them were even able to get health insurance for the first time in their lives. But that doesn’t quite fit with my talking points[9]]. The Alexander-Murray legislation, which funds cost-sharing payments and gives states more authority to reduce rates, was introduced by 24 senators, half Democrats and half Republicans. The Collins-Nelson risk pool proposal was supported by almost every witness who came before the Senate's health committee during our four hearings on stabilizing the individual market. President Trump and Majority Leader McConnell support these bipartisan bills [again – this is my subtle shift away from me having told Mainers that these bills would pass]. And House Republicans voted for similar proposals earlier this year in their repeal and replace bill. Earlier, the Senate Democratic leader said that every Senate Democrat would vote for it.”
Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) added: “It looks like the Christmas present of lower health insurance premiums will now have to be a Valentine’s Day present. It is hard to add our bills to a year-end package that does not yet exist. I am grateful to Senator Collins for her strong and steady leadership and to the 22 other Senate Democrats and Republicans who have cosponsored legislation to help drive down these intolerable insurance premium increases. I am confident that after the first of the year members of both houses will be eager to include our legislation in what was to have been the year-end package of bills.”
Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) added: “I appreciate the thoughtful and bipartisan effort [political cover] that Chairman Alexander has led in the Senate health committee [tried to provide me in the original statement], and I look forward to working alongside him and Ranking Member Murray [Again, I know she opposes using her bill as a political tool to help see through the repeal of the individual mandate] to enact these bipartisan bills and help make health insurance more affordable. This afternoon Speaker Paul Ryan called me and said that the House remains committed to passing legislation to provide for high-risk pools and other reinsurance mechanisms similar to the bipartisan legislation I have introduced [Uh-oh. I know I told people that we would pass the Collins-Nelson bill, but I’m walking that back here to just say ‘similar measures’. Oh, and I am purposefully not mentioning here that Speaker Ryan is not committing to passing the Alexander-Murray stabilization bill, but let’s not talk about that for now]. He pointed out that by waiting until early next year, we will be able to use a new CBO baseline that will result in more funding being available for reinsurance programs that have been proven effective in lowering premiums while protecting people with pre-existing conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and arthritis.”
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[1] Maine Public Radio: “In November, Collins told reporters in Washington, D.C., that the health care bills would likely be considered before final passage of the tax overhaul, thus strengthening her negotiating position.”
[2] Washington Examiner: “’I'm absolutely confident, I have it in writing, a statement by both Mitch McConnell and Speaker Ryan,’ she said.”
[3] The Hill: “One Senate Republican colleague, who requested anonymity, said Collins should have known that Senate leaders couldn’t guarantee that the House was going to accept her deal with McConnell and Pence. ‘I don’t know how the leader can guarantee anything other than a vote on the floor,’ said the lawmaker. ‘Susan’s been here long enough to know that.’
[4] Vox: “But health policy experts say Alexander-Murray isn’t nearly enough to offset the consequences of repealing the mandate. The individual mandate, as unpopular as it is, is one of the pillars of the health care law. The stabilization bill does little more than guarantee payments to health insurers that were only in doubt because President Trump cut them off.”
[5] Sam Stein Tweet: “So Collins and Alexander confirm that CHIP, a program that gives health care to 9m kids and whose money expired in Sept, won’t be renewed this year. Maybe next year. 9 million klids.”
[6] Senator Patty Murray Tweet: “I'll keep saying it: Tacking Alexander-Murray onto the partisan Republican tax plan is like trying to put out a fire with penicillin. It will not do anything to help.”
[7] CNN: “Multiple House Republicans and aides say they won't go along with a last-minute effort to again try to force GOP members to swallow something the Senate decides to add on, and could instead continue the legislative pingpong, taking what the Senate sends back, removing the CSR provisions and shipping it back for the Senate to vote on.”