History was made Saturday, as U.S. House members narrowly passed their version of a health care bill, though a big hurdle still lies ahead in the U.S. Senate.
The Democrat-controlled House cheered the passage of the Affordable Health Care for America Act, in what would be the biggest expansion of health care coverage since Medicare was created more than 40 years ago.
"We've not gotten there yet, but we've gotten further than we've ever gotten before," Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, said.
Rep. Doggett said the House bill means small businesses will now be able to access more coverage for employees, people with preexisting conditions won't be turned away and the six million Texans without insurance will have a chance to choose it.
"For our one in four families that lack health insurance, it means there will now be a place, much like going to buy an airline ticket on the net, to be able to go compare prices for a standard policy," he said.
Doggett said a tough fight awaits the U.S. senators, but he's confident the president will sign a health care reform bill before long.
A Senate version has not yet been formally released, as the work of two committees is being merged.
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Doggett
News 8's Karina Kling sat down with Congressman Lloyd Doggett to talk about what passing the House bill could mean for Texans.
 
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But Stacey Pogue with the Center for Public Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan, nonprofit research organization, said at this point, the Senate bill doesn't look like the better option.
"What we expect is that the Senate bill will not provide as much help for low- and moderate-income families as the House bill did," she said.
Doggett also has concerns over the Senate's possible opt-out plan for public insurance.
"I think that would be a really bad decision. For one thing, we need a national program of health insurance that can compete with these national insurance companies," Doggett said.
With a historic passage on one side of the Capitol, eyes are now turned to the Senate, as many wonder whether health care reform will happen before the New Year, if at all.
If both chambers pass a bill, committees will merge the House and Senate proposals.
