President Obama has signalled the White House would push a more assertive line on the ongoing healthcare reform debate in Congress, a move that has been welcomed by the media.

However, senator Charles Grassley believed to be a key figure to a bipartisan bill has resorted to a novel way of making his objections to the president's initiative clear. According to media reports Sen Grassley said via Twitter that President Obama has ''got nerve'' to go sightseeing in Paris while urging law makers to deliver on health care overhaul.

'''Pres Obama you got nerve while u sightseeing in Paris to tell us 'time to deliver' on health care.'' he is reported to have written on Twitter.

Meanwhile, according to White House adviser David Axelrod the administration hoped to get significant health reform, significant energy legislation and financial regulatory reform done by the end of the year.

According to Peter Orszag, the White House's leading advocate on healthcare, office of management and budget director Peter Orszag up to 30 per cent of the nation's current healthcare costs, or some $700 billion annually, could be eliminated simply by curtailing unnecessary or costly expeditures.

Regarding taxes on health insurance benefits, President Obama and his top aides have not revealed any intentions, but his top aides would not quite say no either to an idea that he had attacked during his presidential campaign.

Senators Max Baucus and Charles E Grassley have in an interview said their backstage negotiations on the bill would clear remaining obstacles and a bipartisan deal in their committee was close to being reached, however there remained huge differences between Democrats and Republicans over the role of government and how to pay for it.

Political analysts believe that if the ''liberal'' Senator Edward Kennedy were to take on a lesser role because of illness, that could make it easier for the more-conservative Baucus to move the health-care legislation in a centrist direction. Senator Baucus is meanwhile said to be extremely confident about the odds that the health reform would be passed by the Congress.

With the sweeping health-care reform bill being drafted in the Congress, Senate negotiators are expected, this week, to try to tackle the remaining contentious issues that could finally determine the shape and fate of the bill. In closed-door sessions, members of the Senate Finance and Health committees will address certain contentious aspects that might potentially prove to be deal-breakers for meaningful Republican support.

One of the main hurdles remains the so-called ''public option.'' a government insurance programme that would compete with private insurance companies. Most Republicans hate the public/government option as they fear it would hit private insurers forcing them out of business. The other big unresolved matter that will need to be addressed is - who would foot the bill for the massive reform or rather who would get taxed – the rich, the employers, the employees or a combination?