US Democrats make healthcare deal reports say

Democrats in the US House of Representatives have reached agreement on proposals to reform the American healthcare system, the BBC reports.

The deal, brokered between fiscally conservative Democrats and party leaders, means the House could be in a position to pass a bill in the autumn, says the BBC.

The agreement, revealed by Representative Mike Ross, leader of the so-called Blue Dog Democrats on Capitol Hill, is described as a boost to Barack Obama in the Independent, as the president held two back-to-back town hall meetings in North Carolina, and in Virginia.

However, the BBC says the US Senate will also need to agree on a bill before a final version can pass.

Although the exact details of the deal have yet to emerge, reports suggest the House's bill will include a public insurance option.

After much lobbying from the House Blue Dog Caucus, the cost of the $1tn (£600bn) bill will be cut by $100bn though.

Speaking at a town hall meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina, Mr Obama said healthcare reform would provide Americans with “more stability and more security”.

“What we need, and what we will have when we pass these reforms, are health insurance consumer protections to make sure that those who have insurance are treated fairly and insurance companies are held accountable,” he said, according to the BBC.

The BBC's Adam Brookes in Washington says Mr Obama's references to security and consumer protection represent a change in tack for the president.

Adam went on to write the US president is trying to shift the discussion away from dry policy debates and instead persuade Americans that his reforms will benefit them personally.

According to the Independent, after making healthcare reform his top legislative priority since taking office, Mr Obama has made him a virtual hostage of the fraught negotiating on Capitol Hill as liberals have found themselves symied.

It is not only the Republicans but also some of the conservative Democrats are suspicious of the likely costs of reform and dislike the idea that government is inserting itself into the private healthcare market.

As the BBC states, earlier this year, Mr Obama called on both chambers of Congress to pass bills before the beginning of August, but lawmakers now say that will not be possible.

There is disagreement about the details of the proposed reforms, worked by a number of different committees

Lawmakers are divided on whether to set up a public health insurance scheme for Americans without employer-sponsored coverage.

Other disagreement is about how to raise revenue to fund the proposed expansion of healthcare coverage.

The current healthcare situation in US is that 47 million Americans do not have health insurance, and rising healthcare costs are a major contributing factor to America's spiralling budget deficit.