On Capitol Hill, the Republicans’ latest effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act appears to be dead, after a third Republican senator, Susan Collins of Maine, came out against the bill. Republican Senators John McCain of Arizona and Rand Paul of Kentucky have also said they’d vote against the bill, leaving the Republicans one vote short. A preliminary analysis by the Congressional Budget Office says the Republicans’ plan, known as the Graham-Cassidy bill, would cause millions of people to lose their health insurance. On Monday, disability rights activists and healthcare advocates disrupted the one and only congressional hearing on the healthcare bill, chanting “No Cuts to Medicaid.”
Protesters: “No cuts to Medicaid! Save our liberty! No cuts to Medicaid! Save our liberty! No cuts to Medicaid!”
The Capitol Police say 181 people were arrested protesting inside the Senate Finance Committee hearing and in the halls of Congress. This is Colleen Flanagan of the disability rights group ADAPT.
Colleen Flanagan: “Save our liberty! No cuts to Medicaid! Save our liberty! No cuts to Medicaid! Save our liberty! No cuts to Medicaid! Save our liberty!”