Susan Collins on Medicare: The WISeR Prior Authorization Vote, the Oz Confirmation and Drug Prices

On July 16, 2026, Maine Senator Susan Collins voted no on taking up a resolution to overturn the rule creating Medicare's WISeR model, which uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) to add prior authorization to traditional Medicare in six states through 2031. The motion failed 46 to 50, and federal records later showed reported denials that appear inaccurate or inconsistent with applicable criteria.

Collins voted to confirm Mehmet Oz to run the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the agency running WISeR, and voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary. On July 1, 2025 she voted against an amendment to cut Medicare drug prices in half and add dental, vision and hearing coverage.

The WISeR model is set to run from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2031 in six states that do not include Maine, under the CMS leadership Collins voted to confirm; Maine Senator Collins's Kennedy vote was reported by the Portland Press Herald.

Susan Collins's Votes on Medicare Prior Authorization, Drug Prices and Medicare Leadership

• Collins Voted Against Taking Up a Repeal of Medicare's AI Prior Authorization Pilot in July 2026. On July 16, 2026, Susan Collins voted no on the motion to proceed to a resolution disapproving the CMS rule implementing prior authorization for select services under the WISeR model; it failed 46 to 50, so the rule stayed. CMS says WISeR runs in New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, and Washington. The Electronic Frontier Foundation reported that in the first three months CMS sent information requests or corrective action requests to at least four of the six WISeR vendors over delays, technical failures and a lack of communication with providers.
• Collins Voted to Confirm Mehmet Oz as Medicare and Medicaid Administrator. 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. Under Oz, CMS launched WISeR just six months after announcing it, ignoring calls from medical providers to delay its rollout, according to EFF's review of agency records.
• Collins Voted Against Cutting Medicare Drug Prices in Half and Adding Dental, Vision and Hearing. On July 1, 2025, Collins voted no on Senator Bernie Sanders's amendment to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to cut the price of prescription drugs under Medicare in half and expand Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing; it failed 47 to 53 under a 60-vote threshold.
• Collins Voted to Confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Whose Department Oversees Medicare. On February 13, 2025, Collins voted to confirm Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services, the department that houses CMS; he was confirmed 52 to 48, as the Portland Press Herald reported.

What the WISeR Prior Authorization Pilot Susan Collins Kept in Place Means for Medicare Patients

• Medicare approvals took longer than the program's own guidelines allow. EFF reported CMS asked one vendor about determination turnaround times that exceed established guidelines and inadequate customer service, which means patients wait longer to learn whether a service their doctor ordered will be covered.
• Some vendors failed to send required decision letters on time. CMS observed that one vendor, which uses Palantir software, was not issuing determination letters in a timely manner, so patients and providers did not know whether Medicare would pay.
• The pilot is set to last through 2031. CMS says WISeR will run for six performance years, so the prior authorization rules Collins voted to keep in place cover traditional Medicare patients in those six states until the end of 2031.

Frequently Asked Questions Susan Collins on Medicare

Last updated: 2026-10-28

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