The GOP Senate healthcare bill is getting slammed by newspapers in the home states of on-the-fence Republicans
On Tuesday morning, Republican senators on the fence about voting for the GOP healthcare bill were met with local newspaper headlines screaming the dismal results of the Congressional Budget Office's Monday report on the bill's projected impact.
From North Carolina to Nevada, front pages featured the news that 22 million Americans would lose health insurance by 2026 and that Medicaid would be cut by nearly $800 billion under the proposed Obamacare-replacement law.
In Maine, home to Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who has said she will vote against the current version of the bill, the Portland Press Herald's top headline read, "Older, rural Mainers hit hard by Senate's health care plan," while Lewiston's Sun Journal trumpeted Collins' opposition to the legislation with the headline, "Collins against GOP health bill."
Other Maine newspapers also warned of the results of the CBO report.
In Wisconsin, the Wausau Daily Herald's top story featured the effects of proposed Medicaid cuts on the state's education system. Its top headline read, "Caps in Medicaid could cost schools: health care bills push special needs expenses onto schools."
Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin suggested this week that he might not support the bill.
The majority of the Charleston Gazette-Mail's front page on Tuesday featured photos of protesters outside the West Virginia offices of Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, who has not announced her position on the bill.
The White House has been pressuring Republicans to vote for the bill, but it's still unclear whether it has enough support to make it through the Senate.