Hochul won her House seat in a special election last year in part by vowing to protect Medicare from Ryan's Medicare plan - which may explain why Collins refused to say how he feels about it.
While not affecting current Medicare enrollees, Ryan's plan would, starting in 2023, shift the program to one where seniors could choose among private plans for their health care, with government providing them a subsidy.
And what does Collins think about that idea?
"I'm going to go to Congress to debate how we get a balanced budget in 10 years," Collins responded.
He was asked again about the Ryan Medicare plan.
"I am taking the position we need a balanced budget in 10 years," he responded. "We have to look the American people in the eye and tell them we're going to balance the budget or we're going to go down the road of insolvency, which is where we're headed."
Asked a third time what he thought of Ryan's idea, Collins responded, "I'm going to be part of a debate."
