Seth A. Richardson

Reno Gazette-Journal

Shortly after the House passed a bill rolling back several provisions of President Barack Obama’s health care law, U.S. Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., came out against the bill in its current form.

After weeks of trying to pass the measure, House leadership on Thursday came up with enough votes to repeal and replace the law – commonly known as “Obamacare.” U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei, R-Nev., was one of those votes, switching his stance at the 11th hour.

More Obamacare:In major victory for Republicans, House passes Obamacare repeal

Amodei's vote:Amodei confirms he flipped to 'yes' on Obamacare repeal

The repeal bill, known as the American Health Care Act or AHCA, now has to move through the Senate where it will likely have a much more difficult pathway and a narrow margin for error among Republicans, who control the chamber.

If three Republicans defect, it is essentially dead as Democrats have come out united against any cuts to coverage.

Heller said on Thursday that he is currently one of those three.

“I want to repeal Obamacare in a way that benefits Nevadans, but I think that the current bill falls short,” he said. “I will not support it in its current form in the Senate, and am confident that what the Senate considers and approves will be different from the House bill. We cannot pull the rug out from under states like Nevada that expanded Medicaid and we need assurances that people with pre-existing conditions will be protected.”

Heller said he was going to work with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval on coming up with a solution. Sandoval said Thursday he is still against the bill as well.

More:Heller says Trump's budget is 'anti-Nevada'

AHCA cuts several portions of Obamacare, including rolling back the Medicaid expansion to states and allowing states to decide whether to allow insurance companies to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions.

The House passed it on Thursday without and updated score from the Congressional Budget Office, but a prior analysis from its introduction in March estimated 24 million people could lose coverage by 2026.

Other more moderate Republicans could join Heller, and some have already spoken out against the bill such as Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio, Susan Collins of Maine, Cory Gardner of Colorado and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

Town halls:Noisy Reno crowd greets Heller, Amodei at town hall

Op-ed:Sen. Heller lied to my face about Planned Parenthood: Donna West

Heller’s decision could have political ramifications for the 2018 election as well. Largely considered the most targetable Republican senator during the election cycle, Heller has faced stern criticism from progressives since President Donald Trump took office.

Around 600 people packed a Heller town hall in April, chastising the senator and demanding he keep Obamacare in place, a common occurrence at Republican town halls nationwide.

This post has been updated with Gov. Brian Sandoval's position on AHCA.

Seth A. Richardson covers politics for the Reno Gazette-Journal. Like him on Facebook here or follow him on Twitter at @SethARichardson.