Democratic leaders in the US House of Representatives scrambled on Friday to allay lingering concerns about a broad healthcare overhaul and said a landmark vote planned for Saturday could slip a day or more. President Barack Obama and top administration officials called undecided Democrats to plead for support, and House leaders held talks with wavering members to nail down their backing.
Democrats were short of the 218 votes they need to pass the measure, but House Democratic leader Steny Hoyer said "we're very close." House members were warned the final vote could slip to Sunday or even later in the week. Democrats cajoled dozens of party moderates concerned about abortion and immigration provisions in the bill, as well as its $1 trillion price tag and its possible effect on budget deficits.
"There are many people who are still looking to get a comfort level that this is the right thing to do," Hoyer said. "We're trying to answer any concerns they might have." The sweeping overhaul, Obama's top domestic priority, would spark the biggest changes in the US healthcare system since the creation of the Medicare health program for the elderly in 1965.
House Republicans are united in opposition to the measure, designed to rein in costs, expand coverage to millions of uninsured and bar insurance practices such as denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. Republicans object to new taxes to pay for the changes and the potential impact on the budget, and say the government is meddling in private healthcare and insurance markets.
Democrats on both sides of the abortion issue negotiated late into the night in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, considering proposals to strengthen the bill's provisions to ensure federal subsidies are not used to pay for abortions.
About 40 moderate House Democrats have threatened to oppose the bill without the changes, but members who favour abortion rights said they would not allow the bill to exceed current restrictions on using federal money to finance abortions. Some negotiators said no deals had been struck but they were still hoping for progress.
"I'm feeling more confident we'll have the votes to pass it," House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman said of the bill. "Members who looked like they weren't going to be for the bill are coming around." If the bill passes the House, the action would move to the Senate, which is preparing its own version. Obama wants to sign a bill by year's end, but Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid has indicated that deadline may not be met. Obama is expected to visit Congress on Saturday to rally Democrats to support the House bill, which was bolstered on Thursday with endorsements from powerful lobbying groups for doctors and older Americans.
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