December 24, 2009 - Diana Manos, Senior Editor and Jack Beaudoin, VP Healthcare IT News

WASHINGTON - The Senate passed a sweeping healthcare reform bill Thursday morning by a 60-39 margin, all but ensuring that President Barack Obama will get one of his legislative priorities written into law in early 2010.

The Senate bill must now be reconciled with the House version, which was passed earlier this fall.  When those differences are resolved, a final vote of approval from Congress is all that stands in the way of the President's signature enacting the bill into law. 

The House and Senate bills agree on a number of measures.

Both mandate that all Americans buy insurance or face fines, both call for subsidies for low-income families to buy insurance, and both would limit out-of-pocket expenses and prevent insurance companies from denying coverage due to pre-existing conditions.

Both bills would expand Medicaid coverage to include more poverty-level Americans and create health insurance exchanges where uninsured Americans and small companies could buy health insurance at competitive prices.

But there remain significant hurdles to passage.  The bills hold several obstacles that may be difficult to resolve in conference, including the use of federal funding for abortion, a public health option and the price tag.  Senate leaders have been criticized for watering down their bill to gain votes, including eliminating a public healthcare option.  House leaders have said they will not compromise on issues such as the public option.

White House officials have indicated that the president hopes to have the bill on his desk before his State of the Union speech in late January, but others on Capitol Hill have speculated it will be difficult for Congress to meet that deadline.

Nonetheless, in remarks Thursday morning following the Senate vote, the President was optimistic.

"Ever since Teddy Roosevelt first called for reform in 1912, seven Presidents -- Democrats and Republicans alike - have taken up the cause of reform," President Obama said.  "Time and Time" again, such efforts have been blocked by special interest lobbyists who've perpetuated a status quo that works better for the insurance industry than it does for the American people.  But with passage of reform bills in both the House and the Senate, we are now finally poised to deliver on the promise of real, meaningful health insurance reform that will bring additional security and stability to the American people."

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