Congress is working diligently to get a combined bill for President Obama to sign before the end of 2009.
If it happens, we'll have made history and we'll begin a trend that it will be impossible to get away from in the future.
Unfortunately, it's unlikely that the bill we'll get will be what we expected.
Here are some of the most important parts of the healthcare bill.
Higher income families will see higher taxes - Healthcare reform will certainly raise taxes on those with the highest incomes.
In fact, there is an outright extra tax for the higher incomes, and it goes directly to fund the healthcare program.
There will be very little help for anyone for another three years - Most of the benefits of the program begin in 2013 or 2014, though there would be some money available to the uninsured whose health is frail right now.
The ban on pre-existing conditions will be three years out.
Both the House and Senate plans will prohibit insurers from denying coverage or charging higher premiums due to poor health, but the benefits don't begin until at least 2013.
Everyone will eventually have to have health insurance.
At some point all Americans are required to carry insurance or face fines.
Younger people will see their premiums go up - Today, private insurers charge lower premiums for people in their 20's because they rarely have health problems.
Under the new plans, these people will see their rates raised dramatically.
Rates may still not be affordable for many families.
- Middle class families will likely see their insurance coverage become more affordable than it is today.
However, according to recent polls the reduction in premiums will not be significant enough to really make healthcare affordable for many families.
There's likely to still be changes and compromises to the bill before it leaves Congress.
If you're interested, stay tuned day by day to see how the bill really ends up.