At Donald Trump’s town hall on Thursday night, the President said that his administration has a “very good chance” of repealing the Affordable Care Act when the Supreme Court hears their case to strike down the health care law just one week after Election Day.
The lawsuit is only possible because of Senator Susan Collins’ critical vote for the 2017 GOP tax bill. According to the Trump administration’s brief in the case, when Collins voted to pass the tax bill, she “knowingly voted to destroy” the ACA.
If the Republican lawsuit is successful, nearly 100,000 Mainers would lose their health care, and protections for people with pre-existing conditions would be gutted. Despite this, Senator Collins still maintains that she does not regret her vote for the bill “at all,” and has admitted that she and her Republican colleagues have no comprehensive plan to replace the ACA if it is eliminated by their lawsuit.
“Unfortunately Donald Trump is right for once—there is a real chance the Supreme Court could rule to strike down the Affordable Care Act, and it wouldn’t be happening without Senator Collins’ help,” said Maine Democratic Party Chair Kathleen Marra. “Collins and her Republican colleagues made this lawsuit possible when they passed a tax giveaway for their corporate donors, and now health care for 100,000 Mainers and protections for people with pre-existing conditions are in jeopardy. As long as Collins is in Washington, Mainers’ health care will be at risk.”
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