Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s decision to delay avote on health-care legislation came as a relief to some Republicanholdouts, but it sets off what will be a furious few weeks of talksto deliver on the GOP’s seven-year promise to repeal the AffordableCare Act.

Related: Senate GOP health proposal would leave 22Muninsured

Senate Republicans went to the White House Tuesday afternoon tomeet with President Donald Trump, who also promised his politicalsupporters he would do away with Obamacare. "We’re going to solvethe problem," the president told senators.

But Trump also conceded the possibility that the health billwouldn’t pass.

“If we don’t get it done, it’s just going to be something thatwe’re not going to like,” he said at the meeting. “And that’s OK,and I understand that very well.”

McConnell’s plan to pass a bill this week fell apart amidopposition from both the conservative and moderate wings of hisparty.

"The president got an opportunity to hear from the members whohave concerns about market reforms and the future of Medicaid," themajority leader told reporters after the senators’ meeting withTrump. "Everyone around the table is interested in getting toyes."

Related: Three GOP senators oppose health bill, enough toblock it

McConnell needs support from at least 50 of the 52 Republicansto move forward with the measure, but at least five Republicanssaid they would vote to block Senate debate on the current versionof the bill. Congress leaves Washington next week for a July 4recess, and talks will continue during the break. Lawmakers will beback for three weeks before their August recess.

Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski said Republicans weren’t ready to make adecision this week. Delaying the vote was "an important step," shesaid.

Related: Trump starts to jawbone possible GOP health billholdouts

She and other moderates were concerned about the bill’s sharpcuts to Medicaid for low-income Americans, while conservatives saidthe measure didn’t go far enough to uproot Obamacare. To pass abill, McConnell must find a way to please one side without losingmore support from the other.

The House mustered barely enough votes to pass its own proposalon May 4 after also having to cancel earlier vote plans for lack ofsupport. McConnell released his proposal on June 22 after weeks ofsecret drafting.

Republican leaders wanted to formally introduce the plan asearly as Tuesday, but defections started even before thenonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said late Monday that thebill would leave an additional 22 million Americans without healthinsurance in a decade.

Five GOP senators had said they would refuse to bringMcConnell’s bill to the Senate floor: Dean Heller of Nevada, RandPaul of Kentucky, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Susan Collins of Maineand Mike Lee of Utah in saying they would refuse to bring the billto the Senate floor.

Later, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Shelley Moore Capito of WestVirginia and Rob Portman of Ohio also said they opposed themeasure.

Hours earlier Tuesday, second-ranking Republican John Cornyninsisted to reporters that "we’re gonna vote, we’re gonna pass it"this week.

But the serious negotiating has yet to begin. McConnell andSenate GOP leaders hadn’t discussed possible changes with membersconcerned about some of the bill’s provisions, two senatorssaid.

"I have not heard back from the leadership with any suggestionsfor changes," Collins said.

Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana also said he is waiting tohear from leaders about revisions before deciding how he’ll vote.

Keeping up the fight

Democrats said they’re planning to keep up the fight against theRepublican legislation.

Related: 5 things for agents to know about the Senate healthbill

“McConnell is going to relentlessly work all recess to cobbletogether 50 votes,” Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut wrote onTwitter. “We Will Work Harder.”

"We want to fix it," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of NewYork said in an interview. "But they’ve got to get rid of taxcuts to the rich, get rid of cutting Medicaid and we can talk."

McConnell plans to seek changes to the bill and a new CBOanalysis, a Republican aide said.

Johnson said the goal is to get an agreement by Friday so theCBO can analyze it over the weeklong recess. He said Trump was "notat all" frustrated during the meeting.

Part of Republicans’ argument for urgency in replacing Obamacareis their repeated assertion that the health-care system iscollapsing. While insurers including Aetna Inc., UnitedHealth GroupInc. and Humana Inc. have pulled out of the individual market insome states, part of that decision stems from uncertainty about thefuture of the Affordable Care Act as Republicans seek to dismantlethat law.

McConnell said that either Republicans will agree on a healthcare plan, "or the market will continue to collapse and we’ll haveto sit down with Senator Schumer" to work out a bipartisanagreement.

"My suspicion is that any discussion with the Democrats wouldinclude none of the reforms that we’d like to make both on themarket side and the Medicaid side," McConnell said.

Health and financial security

The health-care measure could dramatically affect manyAmericans’ health and financial security while also posingchallenges to state governments facing proposed cuts in Medicaidcoverage for low-income residents.

The Senate bill would reduce taxes on the wealthy, as well as oninsurers, drug companies, device makers and tanning salons by $700billion over a decade, paying for it with sharp cuts to Medicaidand with reductions to the subsidies that help middle-class peoplebuy insurance on their own.

Medicaid spending would be cut by $772 billion over a decade,which would result in 15 million fewer people enrolled in theprogram in 2026 than under current law. Another 7 million wouldn’thave coverage in the individual insurance market.

The CBO estimated that the law would lower premiums in the longterm, but raise out-of-pocket costs. In 2026, average premiumswould be about 20 percent lower than they would be under Obamacare.That’s in part because coverage would be skimpier, and people wouldface higher deductibles and other cost-sharing.

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