Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Mark Wilson/Getty Images Senate Republicans are set to come back from a weeklong recess facing dimming chances to pass their stalled healthcare legislation.

Continued public pressure and few concrete solutions have left the Better Care Reconciliation Act seemingly further away from passage than it was before the July 4 break.

A week in which lawmakers faced pressure from constituents at home has left the legislation's math on the wrong side of passage, as moderates and conservatives continue to disagree about fundamental issues within the bill.

On Sunday, many Republicans openly questioned whether the GOP could deliver on a bill before the August recess.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, who in meetings last week expressed misgivings about the current form of the BCRA, used Twitter to express displeasure with the current state of affairs in the healthcare debate.

"52 Republicazn [sic] senators shld be ashamed that we have not passed health reform by now WE WONT BE ASHAMED WE WILL GO FROM MAJORITY TO MINORITY," Grassley tweeted.

Sen. John McCain was also downbeat during an appearance on CBS's "Face the Nation."

"I think my view is it's probably going to be dead, but I've been wrong," McCain said. "I thought I'd be president of the United States. But I think, I fear, that it's going to fail."

Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana also declared the current BCRA "dead" in an appearance on "Fox News Sunday." He placed the odds of a deal at "50-50."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell can afford to lose only two votes on the BCRA with universal Democratic opposition. Republican leadership is now targeting the week of July 17 for a vote on the bill, reports have suggested.

"Discussions with members and the CBO continue," an aide to McConnell told Business Insider, referring to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

But given the tumultuous week, many GOP lawmakers are already looking ahead to what would happen if the bill failed.

"Republicans we talk with are impatient — they want to ditch the health debacle and move on to pivotal budget issues and then, of course, begin deliberating tax cuts," said Greg Valliere, the chief global strategist at Horizon Investments.

Public pushback

The most apparent troubles for the Republican conference came in the form of public reaction to their healthcare bill, which a survey in late June showed had 17% support from US voters.

In a variety of public events and forums over the recess, GOP lawmakers got an earful from constituents among the 83% who don't support the bill. Even members who opposed the initial version of the healthcare legislation faced pressure.

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine received praise from constituents for her strong stance against the BCRA, but during a July 4 parade in Eastport, Maine, some implored her to remain steadfast in her opposition.

Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas also faced pressure during a town hall on Thursday to maintain his stance against the legislation. Typically a safe bet to stick behind the GOP leadership, Moran repeatedly expressed his misgivings about the BCRA.

"The Affordable Care Act creates significant difficulties that still need major attention," Moran told reporters after the town hall. "But I think at this point, it's time to figure out how ... to get rid of the bad things and improve on the things that need to be improved."

Moran was one of only a handful of Republicans to hold events open to the public, including BCRA skeptics Cassidy (who favors a more moderate approach) and Sen. Ted Cruz (who wants a stronger repeal of the ACA). Cruz is pushing for an amendment to the bill favored by conservatives that would make it easier for states to opt out of certain Obamacare regulations.

Cruz also faced fervent pushback at various meetings in Texas. According to The Washington Post, Cruz repeatedly encountered protesters and continually reiterated his desire to repeal the ACA.

Threading the needle

Other GOP senators during the break seemed to move further away from supporting the legislation. And for differing sides in the caucus, that could lead to drastically different alternatives.

Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota — who, like Moran, typically sides with leadership — said during a meeting with constituents and health officials that he was opposed to the BCRA in its current form, according to The Bismarck Tribune.

This presented another potential defection for McConnell, who spoke at a private function about the possibility of working with Democrats if Republicans were unable to pass the legislation.

"If my side is unable to agree on an adequate replacement, then some kind of action with regard to the private health insurance market must occur," the Kentucky senator said.

McConnell also said that "no action is not an alternative."

Similarly, Cruz during meetings throughout the week expressed skepticism over the possibility of passage. The onetime presidential candidate, however, said there would be a different result if Republicans were unable to work out a compromise.

"If we cannot bring the conference together and agree on repeal legislation, then I think President Trump's absolutely right that we should pass a clean repeal," Cruz said.

That approach is favored by others like Sens. Rand Paul and Ben Sasse. Trump has also suggested moving forward with a simple Obamacare repeal bill if negotiations fall apart. That would at least, supporters say, fulfill a key GOP promise and allow lawmakers more time to draft an acceptable replacement.

But McConnell and more moderate members would rather work with Democrats on a short-term plan to stabilize the insurance markets, lest they deteriorate even more. Based on polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health-policy think tank, voters are more inclined to pin any further harm to the healthcare market on Republicans.