Red County Caucus strongly displeased with U.S. Sen. Collins’ approach to the Affordable Care Act

The Red County Caucus expresses its strong displeasure with the misguided approach U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine has chosen to the healthcare catastrophe that is the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

The ACA, or Obamacare, has burdened millions of Americans across the U.S., including residents of the state of Maine, with skyrocketing premiums, a labyrinth of confusing regulations, dropped coverage and the fear of a collapsing market. The hard working people in the Pine Tree State have watched the senior senator from Maine adopt a Washington-first approach in a dogged obstruction of the president, catering to establishment D.C. special interests rather than joining her fellow Republicans who are desperately trying to formulate a solution to the impending demise of the American healthcare system brought on by the ACA.

It was not two years ago that U.S. Sen. Collins emphatically promised the enthusiastic delegates at the 2016 Maine Republican Convention that she would work to “repeal and replace” Obamacare. Members of the Red County Caucus were there in attendance as delegates. We now ask, what has changed since U.S. Sen. Collins stood on that platform basking in the glow of the applause and approval of her promise?

Certainly, the outlook for Obamacare is more dire and bleak than ever. Does the senator find Obamacare more to her liking now? The Healthcare Exchange for Maine is collapsing. Are these the repercussions she preferred when she embraced the status quo rather than reform?

The Republican inaction on the repeal of the ACA is in no small part a result of the votes and stances U.S. Sen. Collins has taken. While the honorable senator may revel in the notoriety it has brought her, Maine has been spotlighted in this national crisis for all the wrong reasons. We of the Red County Caucus strongly urge U.S. Sen. Collins to remember this state that she represents when casting votes and remind her that the impact of those votes are not felt in the marble halls of Washington, D.C. but in the rugged rural streets and roads of Maine’s fishing, farming and logging communities.