Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval and a group of bipartisan governors said the AHCA health care bill proposed by Congressional Republicans could jeopardize coverage for the most vulnerable citizens and puts the burden of health care costs on the states in a letter to Senate leadership Friday.

The seven governors wrote a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., stressing that they believe Congress should prioritize improving health care in the United States, including controlling costs and stabilizing the market for millions of Americans who grapple with mental illness, chronic health problems and drug addiction. But they said the plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act passed by the House in May “does not meet these challenges.”

“It calls into question coverage for the vulnerable and fails to provide the necessary resources to ensure that no one is left out, while shifting significant costs to the states,” the governors wrote. “Medicaid provisions included in this bill are particularly problematic. Instead, we recommend Congress address factors we can all agree need fixing.”

Sandoval was the first Republican governor to embrace Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act and has said that he won’t support a plan that doesn’t cover the more than 300,000 low-income Nevadans who benefitted from it.

The letter was also signed by Republican Govs. John Kasich of Ohio and Charles Baker of Massachusetts and Democratic Govs. John Hickenlooper from Colorado, Steve Bullock from Montana, Tom Wolf from Pennsylvania and John Bel Edwards from Louisiana.

At an opening of the Culinary Health Center on Thursday, Sandoval said that Nevada was better off due to expanding Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

“I’m going to fight to continue to keep the care that we have,” Sandoval said. “It’s very personal for me because I’ve seen what it’s done.”

Bipartisan Governors Letter to Senate Leadership by Megan Messerly on Scribd

Photo: Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval speaks during a bill signing event inside the Tesla Energy Warehouse in Las Vegas on Thursday, June 15, 2017. Daniel Clark/The Nevada Independent Follow @DanJClarkPhoto