NO EASY FEAT
Under the current circumstances, it is no easy feat for Obama and the Democrats to close the deal, analysts said.
First of all, there is still no timeline for the merging of the two versions. To make it worse, there are huge gaps between them.
The two chambers of Congress are still sharply divided over how to finance the expanded coverage, whether to create a government-run plan, and how to restrict the use of federal funds for abortions.
Many political observers agree that Democrats have invested far too much political capital in producing healthcare bills to allow the upcoming House-Senate conference to fail. However, there are a number of landmines that negotiators will have to defuse.
"The Senate bill will be the main legislative vehicle, because it doesn't happen without preserving the 60 votes in the Senate," said Drew Altman, president of the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation.
"But you can't ignore the House. There are powerful committee chairs who have worked this issue for most of their professional lives," he said.
Secondly, although the congressional Republicans, now in minority, cannot pose any tangible threats to the legislation, they could make an issue of public discontent on the bill and seek into political gains in next year's elections.
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said the most obvious problem with the bill "is that it doesn't do what it was supposed to."
"This fight isn't over," he said.
As Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress worked over the past months to overcome divisions on many tough issues such as abortion, the public option, taxing the wealthy and offending interests like the insurance companies, the public became less trustful of the reform.
Since July, a greater percentage of Americans have disapproved of how Obama handled healthcare than approved, according to Pollster.com, which averages several major polls to mitigate potential bias.
A Washington Post/ABC News survey found that only 37 percent of the respondents said they expected the quality of the new healthcare system to be better than the current one.
A recent article on the Christian Science Monitor observed: "Though Republicans have no means to influence the healthcare legislation, polls suggest they have American public opinion on their side."
Eyeing next year's midterm congressional elections, Republicans are gearing up to make Obama pay a political price for the healthcare reform.
U.S. Senate passes landmark healthcare bill
WASHINGTON, Dec. 24 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate on Thursday passed a landmark healthcare bill, which will expand healthcare insurance coverage to 94 percent of the Americans and could usher in the biggest change in U.S. healthcare policy in decades.
The legislation was passed along strict party lines in a rare early morning vote.
The bill, approved 60-39, would deliver on a long-promised Democratic goal of extending healthcare coverage to nearly every American. It would also represent the biggest expansion of the federal safety net since the 1965 creation of Medicare, the health insurance program for the elderly and disabled. Full story
U.S. healthcare legislation still faces uncertain prospect
WASHINGTON, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- The landmark healthcare reform bill, proposed by President Barrack Obama since he came into office, is moving toward the finish line in the U.S. Senate with a crucial test vote in the wee hours of Monday and a final vote later in the week.
However, sharp differences between the Senate's and the House's versions of the bill, lack of solid public support, and some unsolved thorny issues still hinder the bill from forging into a legislation. Full story
U.S. Senate unveils health care reform bill
WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate unveiled on Wednesday night a health care reform bill that was estimated to cost nearly 850 billion U.S. dollars.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told a press conference that the overhaul health care reform bill would expand health insurance coverage to 30 million more Americans. Full stroy
Greenlight up for health care reform bill in U.S. House of Representatives
WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday passed a historic bill on health care reform, which was considered a landmark legislation that has been worked on for decades.
The voting wrapped up months of efforts by Democratic congressmen to push the bill through opposition from Republicans and conservatives and helped fulfill President Barack Obama's campaign promise of universal health care coverage in the country. Full story
Backgrounder: Key differences in Senate, House versions of healthcare bill
Backgrounder: U.S. healthcare reform glossary
