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Collins appeared on ABC News’ “This Week” to register concerns from the opposite end of the ideological spectrum. While Paul claimed the GOP Senate’s bill didn’t do enough to dismantle Obamacare, Collins complained that the bill did too much and would “jeopardize the very existence of our rural hospitals and our nursing homes” because of its proposed cuts to the expansion of Medicaid.

“This bill would make sweeping and deep cuts to the Medicaid program, which has been a safety net program on the books for more than 50 years, ensuring that some of our most vulnerable citizens or disabled children or low-income seniors receive the health care that they need,” Collins said. “It would affect our rural hospitals and nursing homes, and they would have a very difficult time even staying in existence.”

Collins also worried that the bill’s option of allowing insurers to offer plans that are both compatible and incompatible with Obamacare’s standards would “lead to insurance plans that really are barely insurance at all. It would cause premiums to increase for some very vulnerable individuals, including those with pre-existing conditions, depending on what states decide to do.”

“You can’t take more than $700 billion out of the Medicaid program and not think that it’s going to have some kind of effect,” Collins added. “I do know this: We should not be making fundamental changes in a vital safety net program that’s been on the books for 50 years … without evaluating what the consequences will be.”[lz_pagination]