Health care reform plan passes key US Senate committee (Roundup)

Jul 15, 2009, 17:40 GMT

Washington - US President Barack Obama's plans for a massive overhaul of the country's health care system came one step closer to fruition Wednesday as a key Senate committee became the first congressional panel to approve its version of the legislation.

The Senate's Health Committee approved a health reform bill that would cost some 600 billion dollars over the next decade. It would aim to rein in spiralling health costs, create a government-run insurance option to compete with private plans, and require all people to get some form of health insurance.

The goal is to cover an estimated 45 million people in the United States who do not have health insurance. The bill passed the committee strictly along party lines, 13-10, and is one of a number of versions making their way through the US Congress.

The Senate Finance Committee is expected to approve a bill in the next week. Democratic leaders in the House of Representatives unveiled their own version on Tuesday, proposing a more than 1- trillion-dollar overhaul with an additional health tax on wealthy Americans.

Reforming the US health care system, the most expensive in the industrial world, has frustrated US politicians for decades. Many have warned that rising costs could eventually bankrupt the federal government if not brought under control.

'We are now closer to the goal of health reform than we have ever been,' said Obama in a speech at the White House. 'This progress should make us hopeful, but it can't make us complacent.'

The effort remains controversial: Conservatives have strongly opposed the idea of creating a public plan that would compete with an otherwise market-based system in the United States.

Obama, who launched a fresh effort when he came into office in January, has said he wants legislation on his desk by the end of the year. He called on both houses of Congress to pass their first versions of the bill by the end of the month. After this, both chambers will have to come together to reconcile their versions.

'Make no mistake: The status quo on health care is not an option,' Obama said. 'It is threatening the financial stability of our families, our businesses and government itself.'

The US health care sector takes up about 17 per cent of the country's economic output, more than any other country in the developed world.