House of Representatives passes Obama healthcare legislation

Barack Obama: His healthcare legislation has been passed by the House of Representatives. Photograph: Morry Gash/AP

Barack Obama's landmark healthcare legislation was narrowly passed by the US House of Representatives late last night.

The vote marks a significant step towards the Obama administration's goal of extending health coverage to millions of people lacking it.

The House voted 220-215 in favour of the bill, which will impose tougher regulations on the health insurance industry and provide cover for around 36 million more Americans.

In a statement, Obama praised the Representatives and said he was "absolutely confident" that the Senate would pass its version of the legislation.

"I look forward to signing it into law by the end of the year," the US president said.

The focus will now switch to the Senate, which is working on its own healthcare bill. Progress has stalled as the Democratic leader, Harry Reid, searches for a way to win the 60 votes required to ensure the passage of the legislation.

The two bills must then be reconciled by lawmakers from both chambers before being put forward for final approval.

Yesterday, Reid issued a statement that said: "We are energized that we stand closer than ever to reforming our broken health insurance system."

Last night's vote saw almost unanimous opposition to the bill from Republican representatives, with only one, Joseph Cao, voting for it along with 219 Democrats.

Figures showed that 176 Republicans were in opposition, with 39 Democrats voting against.

John Dingell, a Democrat representative who has introduced national health insurance in every Congress since succeeding his father in 1955, said the bill would offer "peace of mind" to Americans.

"It offers everyone, regardless of health or income, the peace of mind that comes from knowing they will have access to affordable health care when they need it," he said.

But Republican representative Candice Miller claimed Democrats were intent on passing "a jobs-killing, tax-hiking, deficit-exploding" bill.

"We are going to have a complete government takeover of our healthcare system faster than you can say 'this is making me sick'," she said.

The legislation, unveiled last month, would extend healthcare coverage to 96% of Americans.

Democrats put the cost of the plan at under $900bn (£543bn) over 10 years, although some estimates now put that figure at $1.2tn.

The bill would require most Americans to carry insurance and provide federal subsidies to those who otherwise could not afford it.

Large companies would have to offer coverage to their employees, and both consumers and companies would be penalised if they defied government mandates.

The principal mechanism of the bill is the creation of a new government-regulated insurance "exchange" under which private companies could sell policies in competition with the government.

The US government provides coverage for the poor, elderly and military veterans, but most Americans rely on private insurance, which is usually provided through their employers.

However, according to the US census bureau, the number of uninsured people in America jumped from 45.7 million in 2007 to 46.3 million last year, as unemployment and the recession forced people to end insurance payments.

The deepening budget deficit has made it difficult for lawmakers to support costly new programmes.