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The House vote to pass the House committee bill designed to overhaul the nation's suffering health care system received high praise from President Obama on Sunday calling it "historic", and saying that it is now time for the Senate to do its part complete the work.

Over the weakened, the House passed its health care bill by a 220-215 vote. There were 39 Democrats opposing and one Republican supporting it. Because of the fact that all of the Senate Republicans oppose health care reform, approval by the Senate is considered to be certain. Even some moderate Democrats are opposing the legislation.
In his address, President Obama referred to the support given to the legislation by many House members as being courageous because of what he called the heated and even misleading rhetoric regarding this legislation.

If this legislation in put in place it will represent the largest expansion of health care coverage since the creation of the Medicare program over 40 years ago.

The House act is referred to as The Affordable Health Care for America Act. It blocks insurance companies from withholding coverage from anyone who is said to have a pre-existing condition or from charging higher premiums as the result of gender or medical history. Those who are not able to pay for health insurance are subsidized by the act. And it also guarantees coverage to about 96 percent of Americans.
However, Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, from Nevada, says that there is still uncertainty with regard to whether or not this will occur this year.

Speaking at the White House, Obama said Sunday morning that he was completely confident that the Senate would pass its version of the bill.

After both chambers of Congress pass a bill the bill is sent to a congressional conference committee which combines the two proposals into an accepted version that is then sent back to each chamber for approval before receiving Obama's signature.

There are however, still problems in getting this legislation passed according to Republicans in addition to an independent senator who sits with the Democratic caucus.

Also the Senator from Connecticut, Sen. Joseph Lieberman, who is an independent, has said and repeated that he would join a Republican filibuster against a health care bill if it has within it the so-called government operated public health insurance option.

Being interviewed on television, Lieberman referred to this public option, which is in both the House bill as well as the Senate version being prepared by Senate majority leader Reid, an provision that is not necessary provision that has the aim of creating a path to government-run health insurance in the future.

He says that it is against his conscience to vote for a bill that contains a public option and that he would not allow such a bill to reach a final vote. However, he has said and sticks to the position that he would not oppose opening Senate debate on the bill despite the public option provision.

Because the Democratic caucus has only the minimum of 60 votes to overcome a Republican filibuster, Senator Lieberman's position is crucial. In fact the public option is opposed unanimously by Senate Republicans, though Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine has presented the possibility of including a kind of trigger mechanism that in the future would mandate a public option if thresholds for expanded coverage and lower costs are not met.