http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/8429345.stm
US Senate passes landmark healthcare reform bill
The final Senate version of Barack Obama's healthcare reform bill was adopted by 60 votes to 39
US senators have passed the final Senate version of a historic healthcare reform bill.
The bill aims to cover 31m uninsured Americans and could lead to the biggest change in US healthcare in decades.
The bill's passage is a major boost to President Barack Obama, who has made reform a priority. He rejects claims that compromise has left it weakened.
However, it must still be reconciled with more expansive legislation passed by the House of Representatives.
The Senate bill was adopted by 60 votes to 39, with senators voting along party lines.
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BILLS: KEY DIFFERENCES
Public option: House yes, Senate no
Abortion: House bill has stricter restrictions on federal funding
How to pay for reform: House relies heavily on income tax increase for high-earning Americans; Senate bill taxes high-cost health insurance plans
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Fifty-eight Democrats and two independents backed the legislation, while Republicans voted unanimously against it.
"This is a victory for the American people," Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is quoted by Reuters as saying after the vote.
Top Republican Senator Mitch McConnell responded: "The fight is long from over.
"My colleagues and I will work to stop this bill from becoming law."
The bill's passage in an early morning vote on Christmas Eve follows months of political wrangling and 24 days of debate in the Senate chamber.
Opposition Republicans say the legislation is expensive, authoritarian and a threat to civil liberties and accuse the Democrats of rushing it through.
Delaying tactics
Healthcare reform has been the key domestic policy of Mr Obama's administration but finalising the details of the proposed bills has been a lengthy and complex process.
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MARDELL'S AMERICA
  I suspect it is all over bar the shouting, but there will be an awful lot of shouting before we're done  Mark Mardell, BBC North America editor
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On Wednesday, the bill passed the last of three procedural votes in the Senate, with Democrats collecting the 60 votes needed to bring an end to Republican delaying tactics and vote on the final bill.
The process of reconciling the Senate's legislation with the House bill - passed in November - is expected to begin in mid-January.
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.
The House version still includes a public option and also differs on how to pay for the reform.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that efficiency savings made as a result of the Senate healthcare reform bill will cut the federal deficit by $132bn (£83bn) over 10 years, but critics say the predicted savings may never materialise.
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