Historic US Healthcare Bill Cleared
The US house of representatives has cleared, though narrowly, the historic healthcare reform bill, which has been at the heart of President Barack Obama’s agenda, said media reports.
After hours of strong arguments and debate, the house passed the bill by 219 votes against 212, with no republic supporting it, reports said.
When the vote count hit the magic number of 216 – the minimum needed to pass the bill – Democrats hugged and cheered in celebration and chanted: “Yes we can!”
As many as 32 million more Americans will be covered under the bill, which marks the biggest change to the US healthcare system in decades.
Besides, new taxes imposed on the wealthy, and restrictive insurance practices such as refusing to cover people with pre-existing medical conditions will be outlawed.
“We proved that we are still a people capable of doing big things,” Obama was quoted as saying by BBC in remarks after the vote.
“This legislation will not fix everything that ails our healthcare system, but it moves us decisively in the right direction,” he was quoted as saying.
Soon, Obama is likely to ink the bill into law, said reports.
Reports said that the Republicans vowed to continue resisting it.
According to them, the measures are unaffordable and represent a government takeover of the health industry, said reports.
“We have failed to listen to America,” Republican party leader John Boehner was quoted as saying.
(Based on internet reports)
