White House says Congress will pass health bill

[Guest guest]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/091220/us/politics_us_usa_healthcare

White House says Congress will pass health bill

2 hours, 11 minutes ago

By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House on Sunday urged support for a compromise

that would allow healthcare reform legislation to pass the U.S. Senate and

pushed back against other Democrats who said the compromise gives away too much.

While the compromise unveiled on Saturday by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid

does not give President Barack Obama everything he wants, it is still a major

step forward and can be improved in the future, top officials said.

" While it is not perfect, the bill pending in the Senate today is not just good

enough -- it is very good, " Vice President Joe Biden wrote in a New York Times

opinion piece.

Democratic holdout Ben announced his support for the legislation on

Saturday after securing language ensuring that federal funds would not be used

to pay for abortions and winning extra healthcare funds for his state of

Nebraska.

's support gives Reid the 60 votes he needs in the 100-seat Senate to pass

Obama's top domestic priority by Christmas. But the bill excludes many

provisions sought by liberals, notably a new government-run insurance program,

known as the " public option, " to compete with private insurers.

Congress has been tied up for months in sometimes acrimonious debate over

healthcare reform legislation, with Republicans saying the Democratic measure is

too costly and too intrusive into the healthcare sector.

The House of Representatives last month passed its version of healthcare reform.

If the Senate passes its version, lawmakers must iron out the differences

between the two bills, then each chamber must pass the measure again before

sending it to Obama to sign into law. The House version has a public option.

White House senior advisor Axelrod predicted congressional passage but

declined to say when he thought the two chambers would iron out their

significant differences, or which version he preferred.

'GET IT DONE'

" I think it will pass the Congress, " Axelrod said on NBC's " Meet the Press. " " I

think we're going to get it done. "

Senate Democrats are planning a series of crucial procedural votes scheduled to

begin at 1 a.m. EST on Monday, with debate possibly concluding with final Senate

passage on Christmas Eve on Thursday.

The Senate bill would extend coverage to 30 million uninsured Americans, expand

the Medicaid government health insurance program for the poor, provide subsidies

to help some people pay for coverage and halt industry practices like refusing

insurance to people with pre-existing medical conditions.

Healthcare costs devour 16 percent of the U.S. economy -- burdening states and

the federal government while also hurting the competitiveness of U.S.

businesses.

Former Vermont Governor Dean, a medical doctor who is an influential

figure in the Democratic Party's left wing, said he did not support the Senate

bill but would wait to see the version that emerges from talks between the House

and Senate to blend the two versions.

" I would let this thing go to conference committee and let's see if we can fix

it some more, " Dean said.

Other improvements are possible even after the bill becomes law, Axelrod said.

The Obama administration will seek to allow Americans to buy prescription drugs

that have been imported from other countries such as Canada, where medicines

often cost less, Axelrod said. The Senate turned back efforts to include drug

re-importation in the healthcare bill.

" There's no reason why Americans should pay a premium for the pharmaceuticals

that people in other countries pay less for, and we will move forward on it, "

Axelrod said on CNN's " State of Union. "

Obama supported drug re-importation during last year's presidential campaign,

but his administration recently issued a letter from the Food and Drug

Administration citing safety concerns.

(Additional reporting by Tabassum Zakaria and Will Dunham, editing by Vicki

)