Susan Collins on Health Care: Medicaid Cut Votes, ACA Tax Credits, and the Kennedy and Oz Confirmations

On June 30, 2025, Maine Senator Susan Collins voted no on a motion to send the One Big Beautiful Bill Act back to committee to strike any provision that cuts funding for Medicaid, in a bill whose health provisions the Congressional Budget Office says will lead to a 10 million increase in the country's uninsured population. The same day she voted against extending the enhanced ACA premium tax credits and against a motion to remove the law's new administrative burdens and paperwork requirements.

Collins also voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services and voted to confirm Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. In January 2026 she voted against even taking up a resolution to overturn the Oz agency's marketplace rule, which Maine's own marketplace lists among the federal changes that cut enrollment.

In Maine, studies cited by Maine Public projected that 40,000 to 60,000 Maine residents could lose health insurance because of the law, and after the tax credits expired, Maine's marketplace saw a 9.5 percent decline in total enrollment for 2026.

Susan Collins's Votes on Medicaid, ACA Tax Credits and Health Officials

• Collins Voted Against Striking the Medicaid Cuts From the 2025 Law. On June 30, 2025, Susan Collins voted no on Senator Ron Wyden's motion to commit H.R. 1 with instructions to strike any provision that cuts funding for Medicaid; it failed 47 to 53. KFF reports CBO's estimate that the law's Medicaid work requirement alone will increase the number of people who are uninsured by 5.3 million in 2034, and Maine's health department told legislators the new rules move 100,000 members of MaineCare from annual renewals to renewals every six months.
• Collins Voted Against Removing the Law's New Paperwork Barriers to Benefits. On June 30, 2025, Collins voted no on Senator Chris Coons's motion to remove provisions stripping people of federal benefits through new administrative burdens and paperwork requirements; it failed 48 to 52, according to the Senate Press Gallery. Under the law, a person disenrolled for not meeting the work requirement is also ineligible for subsidized Marketplace coverage.
• Collins Voted Against Extending the ACA Premium Tax Credits That Expired for Mainers. On June 30, 2025, Collins voted no on waiving a budget rule for Senator Jon Ossoff's amendment to extend the enhanced premium tax credits; the motion failed 47 to 53. On February 21, 2025, she also voted no on a budget amendment for preserving and extending those credits, which failed 48 to 52. The credits expired on December 31, 2025, and Maine's marketplace reported thousands of Mainers dropping coverage due to affordability reasons.
• Collins Voted Against a Motion to Reduce Health Care Costs for Families. On June 30, 2025, Collins voted no on Senator Chuck Schumer's motion to require changes that would reduce the cost of health care for American families and small businesses; it failed 47 to 53. On the same day she voted no on Senator Ruben Gallego's motion to strike any provision that cuts Medicaid payments for substance use disorder treatment, which failed 47 to 53.
• Collins Voted Against Taking Up a Repeal of the Oz Agency's Marketplace Rule in January 2026. On January 13, 2026, Collins voted no on the motion to proceed to a resolution overturning the CMS rule titled Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Market Integrity and Affordability; the motion failed 47 to 52, ending the effort. Maine's marketplace reports that the rule created new requirements for the federal and state-based Health Insurance Marketplaces and barred DACA recipients from buying coverage there.
• Collins Voted to Confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Health Secretary. On February 13, 2025, Collins voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services; he was confirmed 52 to 48. The Portland Press Herald reported that Collins said she was satisfied by his testimony that he would help restore Americans' confidence in vaccines. Weeks later, $91 million in federal U.S. public health contracts to Maine ended and at least 40 Maine CDC contract workers lost their jobs.
• Collins Voted to Confirm Mehmet Oz to Run Medicare and Medicaid. On April 3, 2025, Collins voted to confirm Mehmet Oz as Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; he was confirmed 53 to 45. His agency issued the Marketplace Integrity and Affordability Rule in June 2025, which Maine's marketplace cites, with the law and the expired credits, for its 2026 enrollment drop.

What the Health Care Votes Susan Collins Cast Mean for Maine Coverage

• Fewer Mainers bought marketplace coverage in 2026 than in any year since Maine's marketplace opened. Maine's 2026 open enrollment saw the lowest overall participation levels since the state launched its marketplace in November 2021, falling from 64,678 to 58,523 people, which means more Maine families facing medical bills without insurance.
• Thousands of Mainers dropped coverage because premiums became unaffordable. Since the start of 2026 open enrollment, 2,722 consumers cancelled Maine marketplace coverage because they could no longer afford the monthly premium; Maine's marketplace says nearly 3,500 cancellations for cost or other reasons suggest they are going uninsured.
• Premiums for some Maine families were set to double or more. Before the credits expired, the Maine Office of the Health Insurance Marketplace projected the average premium would increase 77%, and a North Berwick counselor's premium was set to jump from $478 to $1,262 a month (Portland Press Herald, subscription).
• Maine hospitals face more uninsured patients. Maine Public reported that coverage losses would put an additional financial strain on hospitals, especially rural hospitals, and that between two and five of Maine's rural hospitals could be at risk of closure.
• Maine's public health workforce shrank. Maine's health commissioner said the ended federal grants will compromise Maine's ability to respond to disease outbreaks and maintain vaccine availability.

Frequently Asked Questions Susan Collins on Health Care

Last updated: 2026-10-28

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