Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has indicated she wants to see lawmakers pass two bipartisan ACA bills if the proposed individual insurance mandate repeal from Senate Republicans' tax bill is not dropped, according to The Hill.
On CNN's "State of the Union" Sunday, Ms. Collins was asked if she would vote "no" to a tax bill that included a repeal of the ACA's individual insurance mandate. Senate GOP members officially included the mandate repeal in the tax bill last week.
"Well, first of all, I think we need to distinguish between taking away insurance from people who already have it, which is what the healthcare bills that we considered earlier this year would have done, vs. removing a fine on people who choose not to have insurance," Ms. Collins said.
"And that fine falls disproportionately, 80 percent, on those who make under $50,000.
"I don't think that provision should be in the bill. I hope the Senate will follow the lead of the House and strike it."
She went on to say if that doesn't happen, she believes lawmakers need to pass the Alexander- Murray healthcare stabilization bill as well as a bill she introduced with Bill Nelson, D-Fla. The former bill would provide funding for ACA cost-sharing subsidies to insurers while also giving states flexibility regarding ACA regulations, and the senator said the latter bill would create high-risk pools that would protect people with pre-existing conditions and also help to reduce premiums.
In another interview with ABC's "This Week," Ms. Collins also indicated she wants to see the two other bills taken up before the tax bill, the report states.
"I'm worried about the impact on premiums," she said, according to The Hill. "And that's why we're going to need to pass legislation. And I would like to see that done before we go to the tax bill."
Read the full report here.