Democrats push for healthcare agreement

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Congressional Democrats closed in on a final deal on a landmark U.S. healthcare overhaul on Friday, with President Barack Obama pushing them to move quickly in marathon White House negotiating sessions.

Negotiators from the House of Representatives and Senate made "solid progress" in talks that stretched into the early morning on Friday, the White House said. Democrats hope to send the bill''s major provisions to budget analysts within days.

"I would certainly hope that within the next 24, 48, 72 hours, that we have a general agreement between the Senate and the House," House Democratic leader Steny Hoyer told CNBC.

The talks gathered new urgency as polls show the overhaul is increasingly unpopular and Democrats could lose next week''s special Massachusetts election to replace the late Senator Edward Kennedy -- costing them their crucial 60th vote in the Senate.

Democrats are pushing to finish the bill before Obama''s State of the Union speech in early February, as lawmakers hope to turn to an agenda on jobs and the economy ahead of congressional elections in November.

Negotiators scored a breakthrough on Thursday, winning labor union support for a revised tax on high-cost insurance plans included in the Senate bill that was opposed by unions and many House Democrats.

That cleared one of the biggest remaining hurdles, but negotiators still must resolve thorny issues on how to pay for the plan, the structure of the new insurance exchanges created under the bill and other details.

The House and Senate versions of the overhaul must be melded into one bill and passed again by each chamber before Obama can sign it.

Both bills would extend insurance coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans, create exchanges where individuals can shop for insurance plans and bar insurance practices like refusing coverage to people with pre-existing medical conditions.

Congressional leaders including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid met in the White House Cabinet room deep into the early morning on Friday. Obama stayed in the meeting until about 1 a.m. EST (0600 GMT).

''MADE PROGRESS''

"They made solid progress toward a final package," a White House spokesman said.