US House approves healthcare reform bill

The US House of Representatives has given final approval to a sweeping healthcare overhaul. The bill will expand insurance coverage to nearly all Americans and is being hailed as a landmark victory for President Barack Obama.

Supporters of the health care bill celebrate outside the Capitol  after the House passed the bill late Sunday night, March 21, 2010 in Washington, DC. (AFP/Getty Images/Astrid Riecken)

House Democrats approved the most dramatic health policy changes in decades in a hard-fought vote.

219 favored the bill, while 212 opposed. The passage caps a nine-month political battle over the reform.

During final minutes before the voting, Democrats clinched the 216 votes needed.

Democrat Steney Hoyer, US Representative,said, "We have before is a bill to change an unsustainable course, that is our choice this evening. It is a historic choice."

Democrat Sheila Jackson Lee, US Representative,said, "Today we will heal this land, and we will vote for a healthcare bill. It is not an unlawful mandate."