Obama makes pitch for U.S. House healthcare votes

By John Whitesides and Donna Smith

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama urged Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a broad healthcare reform bill on Saturday as they prepared for a close vote on the biggest changes in health policy in four decades.

House Democratic leaders said they were confident they would have the 218 votes needed for approval after striking a middle-of-the-night deal with foes of abortion rights.

"We will be making history with our vote," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told reporters after the closed Capitol Hill session with Obama. "We will pass healthcare reform."

Democrats said Obama emphasized the urgent and historic need for a healthcare bill that reins in costs, expands coverage to millions of uninsured and bars insurance practices such as denying coverage to people with pre-existing conditions.

"We expect the energy he brought to the debate to be helpful to us on the floor," Representative James Clyburn said.

The abortion deal, struck after hours of closed-door negotiations on Friday, allowed dozens of party moderates concerned about the bill's abortion provisions to have a floor vote on whether to impose stronger restrictions on using federal funds to pay for abortions.

The vote on the amendment adds a new element of uncertainty after days of fevered negotiations and intense lobbying. If it is adopted, party leaders hope it will win over many abortion rights opponents without driving off supporters.

The reform bill would lead to the biggest policy changes in the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare system since the creation of the Medicare health program for the elderly in 1965.