Associated Press: Michigan's senators, Dingell applaud passage of health-care reform

The legislation could define President Barack Obama's legacy and usher in near-universal medical coverage for the first time in U.S. history.

“I commend my colleagues in the Senate on achieving this historic milestone," said a statement from Dingell, D-Dearborn, who authored the health-care reform bill passed earlier in the House. "The journey is long, but the reward will be great. ... When President Obama signs a final, combined bill, we will be well on our way to fulfilling our longstanding moral obligation -providing quality, affordable coverage for every American.”

Dingell, who has introduced health-care reform legislation in the House every year since 1957, was acknowledging the major differences that remain to be worked out between House- and Senate-passed health-care reform bills. Both bills would extend health insurance to 30 million-plus more Americans.

Debbie Stabenow, Michigan's junior senator, called the day a historic one for the nation. "We have passed legislation that will provide health insurance reforms that save lives, save money, and save jobs. ... 14,000 people woke up this morning with health insurance but will go to bed without it. This happens every day in America. This legislation will help them and thousands of others ensure that if they lose their jobs, their family won't lose their health care."

Carl Levin, Michigan's senior senator, acknowledged the shortcomings in the bill, but said it still represents a "major historic step toward providing secure health care for all Americans."

Reaction from Republican lawmakers, however, was scathing.

"Not even Ebenezer Scrooge himself could devise a scheme as cruel and greedy as Democrats' government takeover of health care," House Minority Republican Leader John Boehner said in a statement.

The Ohio Republican complained the legislation would increase health coverage costs for families and small businesses, raise taxes during a recession and cut into federal health care benefits for the elderly.

The bill's passage will offer Obama a bright end to an often rocky year that began with huge hopes following his election victory. His public approval level now hovers around 50 percent as he copes with high unemployment, increasing violence in Afghanistan and the divisive health care debate.

Obama delayed his Christmas vacation in Hawaii until the Senate vote, a sign of its importance to his presidency. The legislation will likely shape the 2010 congressional elections and possibly Obama's 2012 re-election bid.

Obama quickly hailed Senate passage of the bill and said his government is now "finally poised to deliver on the promise" of overhauling a troubled system.

He noted that presidents since Theodore Roosevelt in 1912 have been trying unsuccessfully to overhaul medical care.

Obama also repeated his theme that the bill will help end long-criticized insurance industry practices, such as denying coverage for pre-existing conditions.

The Senate bill "includes the toughest measures ever taken to hold the insurance industry accountable," Obama said.

Vicki Kennedy, the widow of the late Massachusetts Sen. Edward Kennedy, who made health reform his life's work, watched the vote from the gallery.

The legislation would ban the insurance industry from denying benefits or charging higher premiums on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions. The Congressional Budget Office predicts the bill will reduce deficits by $130 billion over the next 10 years, an estimate that assumes lawmakers carry through on hundreds of billions of dollars in planned cuts to insurance companies and doctors, hospitals and others who treat Medicare patients.

For the first time, the government would require nearly every American to carry insurance, and subsidies would be provided to help low-income people to do so. Employers would be induced to cover their employees through a combination of tax credits and penalties. The legislation costs nearly $1 trillion over 10 years and is paid for by a combination of taxes, fees and cuts to Medicare.

Some liberal Democrats have not been enthusiastic about the Senate bill because they don't believe it goes far enough, leaving some 24 million people uninsured.

And there are no plans for a government-run national health care system that would cover all Americans. Even a more modest proposal to have a government-run health plan compete with private insurers had to be stripped from the Senate bill in the face of opposition from moderate Democrats.

Negotiations between the House and Senate to reconcile differences between the two bills are expected to begin as soon as next week.