Washington, October 14: After months of controversy, US President Barack Obama’s push for sweeping healthcare reform has been approved by a Senate committee, clearing off a major hurdle.
The Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday passed the $829 billion healthcare bill by 14 votes to nine, with one Republican – Senator Olympia Snowe – joining the Democrats in the vote.
The president’s reforms aim to cut healthcare costs, regulate insurers and expand coverage.
Obama hailed the key Senate committee’s endorsement as a ‘critical milestone’ toward passing a reform package through Congress.
“We are closer than ever before to passing healthcare reform but we are not there yet,” he said, adding that it was still too soon for congratulations and that now he had ‘to dig in further and get this done’.
The panel’s bill, which was drafted after weeks of bitter bipartisan debates, must now be combined with a Senate Health Committee draft before going to the full Senate for a vote.
Although Obama’s Democratic Party enjoys majority in the House and the Senate, there is no guarantee that the bill would pass.
Some analysts and most Republicans believe that the proposed reforms are too costly and represent too much government intrusion into healthcare.
A private insurance industry , issued a study at the weekend saying the reforms could end up costing people hundreds of, if not thousands, more dollars.
—–Agencies