Healthcare reform

WASHINGTON, March 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. House of Representatives scheduled weekend sessions to carry out procedural steps ahead of a vote Sunday on a $940 billion healthcare reform bill.

It was unclear whether Democrats had the votes needed to move the bill forward but it is unlikely they would rush to vote at the earliest possible moment unless they were confident of passage.

Another sign of likely movement was a decision by the White House to postpone a trip by U.S. President Barack Obama to Asia. He was to have left Monday for visit to Indonesia, Guam and Australia. That trip is now expected in June.

Reform supporters got a boost from the Congressional Budget Office, which Thursday said its analysis indicates the measure under consideration would cost about $940 billion and reduce the federal deficit by $138 billion over 10 years. Obama had put a $1 trillion cost ceiling on reform and said he wouldn't sign any reform bill that added to the deficit.

The bill is expected to allow an additional 32 million people to be eligible for health insurance, either through an expansion of Medicaid or subsidies for poorer workers whose employers don't offer coverage. It would be paid for by cuts to Medicare and additional taxes on better-off Americans.

People would also face fines of $695 a year if they don't have coverage.