Republican congressman asks local paper to explain the effects of the health-care bill he voted to pass

Chris Collins on health care.
(Image credit: Screenshot/CNN)

New York Rep. Chris Collins (R) has already admitted to CNN he did not read the full text of the American Health Care Act, the GOP's health-care replacement bill that narrowly passed the House on Thursday. While Collins insisted he understands "this bill in its entirety" because his staff has read every word even if he himself has not, The Buffalo News had to inform the upstate New York congressman of the effects the bill would have on his own constituents:

Told by a Buffalo News reporter that the state's largest loss of federal funds under the bill would be $3 billion annually that goes to the state's Essential Health Plan, Collins said: "Explain that to me."

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Kimberly Alters

Kimberly Alters is the news editor at TheWeek.com. She is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.