President Barack Obama's hopes of overhauling the US's inefficient and inequitable healthcare system moved a giant step closer to being realised on Thursday, when the Senate passed a sweeping reform bill that would see 94 per cent of Americans with health insurance.
The vote, held shortly after 7am on Christmas eve after almost a month of haggling, was passed by 60-39, with all 58 Democrats and two aligned independents voting in favour.
In a separate vote, senators approved an increase in the US's debt ceiling, raising it by $290bn to $12,400bn until February.
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