Susan Collins Denies Insurance Company Subsidies Is a ‘Bailout’

RUSH EXCERPT:
COLLINS: "It would not affect my vote on health care but it’s an example of why we need to act to make sure that those payments which are not an insurance company bailout but rather help people who are very low income afford the out of pocket costs towards their deductibles and co-pays. That’s what we need to remember. So it really would be detrimental to some of the most vulnerable citizens if those payments were cut off. They’re paid to the insurance companies, but the people that they benefit are people who make between 100% and 250% of the poverty rate. So we’re talking about low income Americans who would be devastated if those payments were cut off. The threat to cut off those payments has contributed to the instability in the insurance market, but what Congress needs to do is to start by the first bill that we should consider is how to stabilize the market. And that is the key component to ensure that those payments continue to be made to benefit low income Americans."