A key US Senate committee endorsed a sweeping healthcare overhaul on Tuesday, gaining the support of an influential Republican and delivering US President Barack Obama a victory on his top domestic priority.
The Democratic-controlled Senate Finance Committee approved the measure on a 14-9 vote, with Senator Olympia Snowe becoming the first Republican in Congress to back a healthcare reform bill.
“Today we reached a critical milestone in our effort to reform our healthcare system,” Obama said after the vote, warning that there were still big challenges ahead for healthcare reform.
The bill, the last of five pending health measures to clear a committee in Congress, will be merged with the Senate health panel’s version in the next few weeks for a full Senate debate and floor votes.
Snowe, who had been courted by Obama and his fellow Democrats, said she still had reservations about the overhaul and could not guarantee her continued support as it advances.
“My vote today is my vote today. It doesn’t forecast what my vote will be tomorrow,” Snowe said.
Health insurer companies’ stocks fell on fears reform was gaining steam and would hurt profits if it passed. The S&P Managed healthcare index of large health insurers was down 1.9 percent.
Snowe’s support for the bill “definitively shifts the political balance in Democrats’ favor,” healthcare equities analyst Avik Roy said.
The vote gave another shot of momentum to the healthcare drive and was good news for Obama, who has been criticized for taking too much on board, from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to climate change and gay rights.
The proposal drafted by Democratic chairman Max Baucus was designed to reduce costs, regulate insurers and expand coverage.
Republicans condemned the plan as a costly and heavy-handed government intrusion into the private healthcare sector and said the measure would get even worse as it moves forward.
Snowe’s support could give Democrats a crucial swing vote as they try to hold the 60 Senate votes needed to overcome procedural roadblocks. Democrats control exactly 60 seats in the 100-member Senate.
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