Washington: Handing out a huge Christmas eve political victory to President Barack Obama, the US Senate on Thursday passed a landmark $871 billion healthcare bill, the centrepiece of his domestic agenda, that will extend medicare services to 36 million un-insured Americans.
The early morning legislation, which proposes sweeping changes in the $2.5 trillion medical insurance market, was approved by Senators who voted 60-39 to pass the bill.
Every member of the Democratic caucus backed the measure while every Republican opposed it.
Welcoming the passage of the "historic" and "landmark" bill, Obama, said it "brings to an end nearly a century long struggle" to reform America's health care system.
This is a major achievement for Obama on the domestic policy front which eluded the democrats for decades.
"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," Obama said in his brief remarks from the White House.
The bill passed by the Senate, like the House bill, includes the toughest measures ever taken to hold the insurance industry accountable.
"Insurance companies will no longer be able to deny you coverage on the basis of a pre-existing condition. They will no long be able to drop your coverage when you get sick," Obama said as he greeted his countrymen on
Christmas eve.
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