The apparent demise of a GOP pledge to repeal the Affordable Care Act was met mostly by silence from the association community, although at least two medical groups urged lawmakers to work together to fix the nation's health care system.

Senate Republicans acknowledged Tuesday they were unable to muster the votes to pass a proposed replacement of "Obamacare" or repeal the law. The GOP bill contained many tax cuts and was supported by business groups such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and National Federation of Independent Business. Neither had issued statements about the apparent failure of the legislation as of Wednesday morning.

The Republican bill was crafted by a handful of GOP senators without input from Democrats, other GOP senators or most of the medical community. Medical industry associations in particular were adamant the legislation would do more harm than good. Two groups—the American Medical Association and American Hospital Association—urged lawmakers Tuesday to keep working on health care reform, but in a collaborative, bipartisan fashion.

"Our hope is that the Senate will use this opportunity to regroup and work in a bipartisan manner to make the much-needed repairs and refinements, creating a health care system that can stand the test of time," AHA CEO Rick Pollack said.

David Barbe, elected president of the American Medical Association, said the health care debate isn't over because "the status quo is unacceptable."

"Near-term action is needed to stabilize the individual/nongroup health insurance marketplace," he said. "In the long term, stakeholders and policymakers need to address the unsustainable trends in health care costs while achieving meaningful, affordable coverage for all Americans."

The GOP bill also contained a provision allowing small businesses to purchase insurance through association health plans. The National Retail Federation, the Society for Human Resource Management and other business groups championed the policy, and the House of Representatives passed a separate bill in March paving the way for association health plans nationwide.

However, the Senate has shown little interest in the past in passing legislation allowing association health plans. The idea also has critics, such as the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, which contends the policy would lead to higher premiums for many small businesses by allowing the purchase of health plans that skirt consumer protections.

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