The healthcare reform bill that will go to the vote on the US Senate floor this week falls well short of Barack Obama’s original vision for healthcare reform.

As the president took office at the beginning of this year, he laid out a plan for reform that would include a robust “public option” for a nationwide government-backed plan that would inject a bolt of competition into the inefficient medical insurance market.

Instead, he is set next month to sign into law a bill that, while dramatically expanding healthcare insurance coverage, will largely leave insurance in the hands of private companies.

Still, Mr Obama has been at pains over the last week to stress that his administration is nevertheless on the “precipice” of improving the daily lives of millions of Americans.

“With today’s developments it now appears that the American people will have the vote they deserve on genuine reform that offers security to those who have health insurance and affordable options to those who do not,” the president said on Saturday after Harry Reid, the majority leader in the Senate, unveiled a bill that can attract the 60 votes needed to pass the upper chamber.

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