US senate to vote on health bill

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US senators are preparing for the second of three procedural votes on a major healthcare reform bill.

This follows Monday's vote in the Senate to end debate on the bill, putting the legislation on course to face a final vote on Christmas Eve.

President Barack Obama hailed the late-night vote, which followed a long, often acrimonious debate, as a "big victory for the American people".

He has set health reform as a key domestic objective for his first term.

SENATE HEALTH CARE BILL: NEXT STEPS Tuesday 22 December: vote to approve compromise proposal that would expand coverage to 94% of Americans and reduce the federal deficit by $130bn over 10 years (needs simple majority of 51)Tuesday 22 December: procedural vote on substitute agreement - a constitutional oddity, aimed at overcoming a rule that prevents the Senate from passing its own revenue-raising measures (60 votes needed)Wednesday 23 December: vote to approve substitute amendment (simple majority needed)Wednesday 23 December: procedural vote on the bill as a whole (60 votes needed)Thursday 24 December: vote on the final bill (simple majority needed)2010: Senate and House versions of the bill to be reconciled <a class="" href="/2/hi/americas/8424755.stm">Reaction as bill advances</a> <a class="" href="/2/hi/americas/8160058.stm">Q&A: US healthcare reform</a>

If approved, the legislation, which aims to cover 31 million uninsured Americans, could lead to the biggest change in US healthcare in decades.

Monday's vote, in which senators split 60 to 40 along party lines, was a crucial victory for the president.

He said the Senate had shown it could "stand up to the special interests" and that the bill would make a "tremendous difference for families, for seniors, for businesses and for the country as a whole".

The Democrats will again have to pin down 60 votes on Tuesday to clear the second procedural vote.

Under the Senate bill, most Americans would have to have health insurance.

Private insurers would be banned from refusing to provide insurance because applicants had pre-existing medical conditions.

If passed, the Senate bill would have to be reconciled with a more expansive one passed last month by the House of Representatives.

Key differences in the House version include a government-run health insurance plan, or public option, and how to pay for the reform.