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WASHINGTON—Health-care groups that vocally opposed the House Republicans’ health plan are now split on the best path forward in the Senate: Should they work with lawmakers to shape a measure or simply try to kill it?

As House Republicans pushed through legislation toppling large portions of the Affordable Care Act, groups representing hospitals, doctors, consumers and some insurers made no secret of their displeasure. Largely shut out of the talks, they actively opposed the bill, firing off angry letters and in some cases airing ads aimed at vulnerable House Republicans.

Now, in the Senate, which hopes to complete its own version of a health overhaul by August, Republicans are unambiguous about their intention to draft an entirely new bill in a more deliberate manner with input from outside groups. Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the Senate Finance chairman whose committee is responsible for drafting much of the legislation, has specifically asked for suggestions from industry associations.

Such declared openness to collaboration has left health organizations with a choice. Some industry leaders say that if senators are genuinely ready to set aside the House bill and heed their concerns, they are ready to cooperate.

“We are not philosophically opposed to ‘repeal and replace,’ but Americans need to have a conversation about whether replacement is better than what we’ve got,” said Andrew Gurman, president of the American Medical Association. The House health measure “was in our estimation a potentially very bad bill.”

Health groups’ reasons for opposing that bill varied, but many feared that cuts in funding and coverage would mean many Americans, especially older and sicker ones, would receive inadequate care and that hospitals and doctors would shoulder a greater financial burden. This past week the Congressional Budget Office said that while some healthier people would see lower premiums, in some states that opt out of some Affordable Care Act rules, which is allowed under the GOP bill, “less healthy people would face extremely high premiums.”

Part of the calculation for industry officials now is whether Senate Republicans are likely to succeed in crafting a bill that can attract 50 of the 52 GOP senators, the minimum they need to push it through.

Some groups, believing it is inevitable that legislation passes the Senate in some form, plan to offer proposals they believe would improve it. Others, in contrast, hope they can convince at least three GOP Senators to oppose any effort, stripping Republican leaders of the majority they need. (If the Senate splits 50-50, Vice President Mike Pence could break a tie.)

Some groups have begun hinting publicly at their thinking. Two hospital organizations, the American Hospital Association and the Federation of American Hospitals, have written Mr. Hatch to offer their suggestions. Hospitals are concerned about the impact of potential cuts to Medicaid, and their proposals include using state waivers to introduce structural changes to the program that could bring down costs to the federal government.

“Up to this point, senators on the Republican side have been very open to discussion,” Chip Kahn, president of FAH, said in an interview. “I think at this stage, it’s more a matter of engaging and sharing our views with them.” FAH in March said it had “significant issues” with the House bill, citing coverage and funding.

Privately, some hospital and doctor group officials have pushed further, approaching senators with proposals that would, for example, wind down the ACA’s Medicaid expansion more slowly than the House bill does. Others, concerned about the House bill’s age-based tax credits, have approached senators like John Thune (R., S.D.) to suggest they vary the credits by income as well as age.

In contrast, AARP, the influential lobby representing older Americans, has concluded that Republicans are on the wrong track and want to block the Senate from passing any health bill. This past week, AARP began airing ads against five GOP senators, linking their names to the content of the House-passed legislation. “AARP is taking a strong stand against the American Health Care Act for one simple reason: it is a bad bill,” Nancy LeaMond, the group’s executive vice president, said in a statement.

AARP isn’t alone in its desire to see the process stall: Several other consumer and women’s health groups have made the bill’s defeat their goal. One health-care lobbyist described the tactic as tossing “sand in the gears.”

Many health professionals fear the Republicans’ goal of cutting federal spending on health care means a likely shifting of costs to them. The CBO estimated the House plan would pull about $993 billion in federal funding out of the health-care industry over the next decade, including a $834 billion cut in Medicaid funding. Republicans say that reflects a properly diminished role for the federal government in health care.

Overall, though, industry officials say they are more optimistic about the Senate’s legislative process. Realizing House leaders would move ahead no matter their objections, many had turned their primary focus to the Senate as long ago as February, well before the House bill passed.

In the Senate, they have found lawmakers more willing to consider their input and a larger contingent who shared industry concerns that the House legislation would strip millions of health coverage.

But even if the Senate produces a bill that many health groups support, a final challenge would remain. The House and Senate ultimately must pass the same bill with no Democratic support likely, and the GOP’s House conservatives and Senate centrists remain far apart.