US House passes healthcare reform bill

The US has adopted a wide-ranging restructuring of its healthcare delivery system. At nearly 11pm on 21 March, in a rare Sunday session, the House of Representatives by a 219 to 212 vote accepted a version of healthcare reform legislation already passed by the Senate, clearing the way for President Barack Obama to sign it into law quickly. He is then planning a major campaign to persuade the American electorate that the new law is a major step forward for them. "This isn't radical reform but it is major reform, " he said after the House action, saying the vote is "a victory for the American people and it is a victory for common sense".