After hours of fierce debate, the U.S. House of Representatives approved President Barack Obama`s overhaul health care reform bill in a narrow 219:212 vote on Monday.

The bill, designed to extend medical insurance to some 32 million Americans, is expected to be signed into law by the president soon.

Obama said in his speech the vote was a "victory for common sense."

"We proved that we are still a people capable of doing big things," he said.

The bill, he said, "will not fix everything that ails our health care system, but it moves us decisively in the right direction."

"This is what change looks like," he added.

The bill will oblige all Americans to obtain health insurance, while the majority of employers, with the exemption of some small businesses, will have to provide insurance coverage to their staff. It will also bar companies from refusing medical insurance to people with so-called pre-existing conditions or to charge more from people with an "unfavorable" medical record.

The draft, the biggest overhaul of the U.S. healthcare system in decades, will also enable the state to sell insurance in competition with private firms.

The reform has been criticized for its costs of some $900 billion in the next decade. Obama, however, says it will have no negative impact on the country`s economy.
sections: Politics, World News