Washington - US President Barack Obama's plans for a massive overhaul of the country's health care system came one step closer to fruition Wednesday as a key Senate committee became the first congressional panel to approve its version of the legislation.

The Senate's Health Committee approved a 600-billion-dollar health reform bill that would aim to rein in spiralling health costs and require all people to get some form of health insurance.

The goal is to cover an estimated 45 million people in the United States who do not have health insurance. The bill passed the committee strictly along party lines, 13-10, and it is one of a number of versions making their way through the US Congress.

The Senate Finance Committee is expected to approve a bill in the next week. Democrats in the House of Representatives unveiled their own version on Tuesday, proposing an additional health tax on wealthy Americans that was not included in the Senate bill.

Reforming the US health care system, the most expensive in the industrial world, has frustrated politicians for decades. Obama, who launched a fresh effort when he came into office in January, hopes to get legislation approved by the end of 2009. (dpa)