GOP senator: It's a ‘mistake’ for health care bill to strip funds from Planned Parenthood

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Sunday that it is a “mistake” for the American Health Care Act to strip funds from Planned Parenthood.

Last week, House Republicans passed the American Health Care Act, their legislation to "repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

During an interview on ABC News’ “This Week,” Collins said that the Senate “is starting from scratch” on health care.

“We're going to draft our own bill,” Collins said. “And I'm convinced that we're going to take the time to do it right.”

The Senate will “improve” the House’s bill, the senator added.

“We will come up with a whole new fresh approach that solves the legitimate flaws that do exist with the ACA, where with have seen, in some markets, insurers fleeing so people won't be able to buy subsidized insurance. But it will keep some of the benefits of the ACA,” she said. “My goal is to actually expand coverage for those 28 million Americans who still lack coverage today despite the ACA.”

The bill passed by the House would block Planned Parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, from participating in Medicaid for one year.

Host George Stephanopoulos asked Collins, who is pro-choice, if she could support a bill “that denies Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood.”

“That is an important issue to me," Collins replied, "because I don't think that low-income women should be denied their choice of health care providers, for family planning, cancer screenings, and well-women care.”

“It's not the only issue in this huge bill,” she said. “But I certainly think it's not fair and it is a mistake to defund Planned Parenthood. But it's one of many issues.”