President Barack Obama Thursday hailed the Senate vote to pass a sweeping reform of the nation's health care system.
Flanked by Vice President Joe Biden, who presided over the final vote Thursday morning, Obama called the vote historic.
"Ever since Teddy Roosevelt first called for reform in 1912, seven Presidents -- Democrats and Republicans alike -- have taken up the cause of reform," Obama said. "Time and time again, such efforts have been blocked by special interest lobbyists who've perpetuated a status quo that works better for the insurance industry than it does for the American people."
He added, "With passage of reform bills in both the House and the Senate, we are now finally poised to deliver on the promise of real, meaningful health insurance reform."
Obama, emphasizing the similarities between the House and Senate bills, said the Senate measure would enact the toughest restrictions ever taken to restrict abuses in the insurance industry.
"Insurance companies will no longer be able to deny you coverage on the basis of a preexisting condition," he said. "They will no longer be able to drop your coverage when you get sick. No longer will you have to pay unlimited amounts out of your own pocket for the treatments you need."
He added, "You'll be able to appeal unfair decisions by insurance companies to an independent party."
Obama also highlighted the major provisions of the law: helping workers to keep their coverage if they lose or change their job, lowering premiums for families and businesses, strengthening Medicare and extending insurance to roughly 30 million of the currently uninsured.
"These are not small reforms. These are big reforms," he said. "This will be the most important piece of social policy since the Social Security Act in the 1930s, and the most important reform of our health care system since Medicare passed in the 1960s."
He added, "What makes it so important is not just its cost savings or its deficit reductions. It's the impact reform will have on Americans who no longer have to go without a checkup or prescriptions that they need because they can't afford them."
The vote, Obama said, brings the country "incredibly close" to making reform a reality and he expressed confidence that the differences between House and Senate versions of the bill could be successfully worked out.
"Our challenge, then, is to finish the job," he said. "We can't doom another generation of Americans to soaring costs and eroding coverage and exploding deficits."
He added, "For the sake of our citizens, our economy, and our future, let's make 2010 the year we finally reform health care in the United States of America."
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.