Rep. King Issues Statement on Release of New Senate Health Care Bill

WASHINGTON, July 13 -- The office of Sen. Angus S. King Jr., I-Maine, issued the following statement in response to the release of the new Senate health care bill:

"This bill is no more encouraging than the last, which is to say it's still terrible. It still includes drastic cuts to Medicaid that will hurt Maine seniors, children, and people with disabilities. It still shifts costs to the states.

"It still has inadequate funding for opioid treatment, and now, by presenting barebones plans, it's going to drive up the cost of insurance for older, sicker people and likely put health care out of reach for them. None of this is good for Maine.

"And when it comes to the process, to have a few people craft a bill in secret - one that will impact millions of peoples' lives and one sixth of the American economy, no less - and then talk about voting on it early next week is simply atrocious, and it's totally inconsistent with how the Senate was designed to make laws. The Senate needs to abandon this approach and, instead, work in a bipartisan manner to make meaningful improvements to the Affordable Care Act."