On June 30, 2025, Susan Collins voted against a motion to send the One Big Beautiful Bill Act back to committee with instructions that would strike any provision that cuts funding for Medicaid, the main payer for nursing-home care in Maine.
Collins voted to confirm Mehmet Oz, whose agency in December 2025 repealed the nursing home minimum staffing standards, and Frank Bisignano, under whom Social Security kept losing staff in Maine. In July 2026 she voted against taking up a resolution to end Medicare's new prior-authorization pilot.
Susan Collins's Votes on Nursing Homes, Home Care and Services for Older Americans
- Collins Voted Against Striking the Medicaid Cuts in June 2025. On June 30, 2025, Susan Collins voted no on Senator Ron Wyden's motion with instructions that would strike any provision that cuts funding for Medicaid, and it failed 47 to 53 with every Republican voting no. Medicaid pays for almost 70% of all home care spending in the U.S., nearly all of which is provided through optional services, and the Bipartisan Policy Center says that optional status makes these programs more vulnerable to reductions during periods of state or federal budget constraints.
- Collins Voted to Confirm Mehmet Oz, Whose Agency Repealed the Nursing-Home Staffing Standard, in April 2025. On April 3, 2025, Collins voted to confirm Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. On December 2, 2025, his agency released an interim final rule repealing the nursing home minimum staffing standards. The Consumer Voice, an advocacy group for residents, says the rule was estimated to save 13,000 lives annually.
- Collins Voted to Confirm Frank Bisignano, Under Whom Social Security Kept Losing Staff, in May 2025. On May 6, 2025, Collins voted to confirm Frank Bisignano as commissioner of Social Security, and he was confirmed 53 to 47 with Republican votes only. Under Bisignano, Social Security staff on duty in Maine fell from 160 in May 2025 to 152 in February 2026, and starting in July 2025 the agency raised the share of a monthly check withheld from people it says were overpaid: "Now, the agency is increasing the withholding rate to 50%."
- Collins Voted to Keep Medicare's Prior-Authorization Pilot in July 2026. On July 16, 2026, Collins voted against taking up S.J.Res. 198, which would have overturned WISeR, a model that since January 2026 requires prior approval for some services in traditional Medicare in six states: New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, and Washington. It died when the motion failed 46 to 50. Two vendors together denied 5,944 prior authorization requests in the first three months of the program.
What the Medicaid Cuts and Staffing Repeal Mean for Older Mainers After Susan Collins's Votes
- Nursing homes. Medicaid is the primary payer for 64 percent of Maine nursing-home residents, and the state's 5,043 nursing-facility residents no longer have a federal minimum nurse-staffing standard after the December 2025 repeal.
- Home care. 2,839 Mainers were already waiting for Medicaid home and community-based care in 2026, before the law's Medicaid cuts phase in.
- Social Security offices. Maine lost 20 Social Security staff, 12 percent, including 16 in customer service, between January 2025 and April 2026, by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities' count.
Frequently Asked Questions About Susan Collins on Elder care
What is Susan Collins's record on elder care under Trump?
Susan Collins voted on June 30, 2025 against a motion to strike every provision of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that cuts Medicaid funding. She voted to confirm Mehmet Oz, whose agency repealed the nursing-home staffing standards, and Frank Bisignano, under whom Maine's Social Security staff kept shrinking. In July 2026 she voted against taking up a resolution to end Medicare's prior-authorization pilot.
Did Susan Collins vote to confirm the official who repealed the nursing-home staffing rule?
Yes. Susan Collins voted on April 3, 2025 to confirm Mehmet Oz, whose Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services repealed the minimum staffing standards in December 2025. The rule would have required 3.48 hours per resident, per day of total nurse staffing and a registered nurse on site around the clock, and KFF found only about 1 in 5 nursing facilities met it.
Did Susan Collins vote on Medicare's prior-authorization pilot?
Yes. Susan Collins voted on July 16, 2026 against taking up a resolution to overturn WISeR, which requires prior approval for some services in traditional Medicare in six states, and it failed 46 to 50. Under WISeR, the participating companies receive a percentage of the expenditures associated with averted care, according to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
Last updated: 2026-10-25