The US Senate has rejected a Republican plan to replace President Barack Obama's signature healthcare policy. <br/><br/>The 57-43 vote defeat marks the start of a days-long debate on a sweeping overhaul that critics fear could deny healthcare to millions of Americans. <br/><br/>The Better Care Reconciliation Act was crafted over two months but attention now turns to other alternatives. President Donald Trump has urged senators to pass a bill, without indicating which one he supports. <br/><br/>A repeal-only bill, which would consign so-called Obamacare to history in two years, to give time to Republicans to devise a replacement, could be debated and voted on next. But that measure, which non-partisan analysts say will take health insurance from more than 30 million people, has already failed to win enough support in the Republican party. <br/><br/>Other attempts to replace Obamacare have collapsed in recent weeks due to divisions in the party. President Trump had made scrapping the policy a key campaign pledge. He says, the system is torturing Americans. He secured a victory yesterday when the Senate agreed to allow the debate on health care legislation reform to go forward, but only after Republican Vice-President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote in support of the bill.

The US Senate has rejected a Republican plan to replace President Barack Obama's signature healthcare policy. <br/><br/>The 57-43 vote defeat marks the start of a days-long debate on a sweeping overhaul that critics fear could deny healthcare to millions of Americans. <br/><br/>The Better Care Reconciliation Act was crafted over two months but attention now turns to other alternatives. President Donald Trump has urged senators to pass a bill, without indicating which one he supports. <br/><br/>A repeal-only bill, which would consign so-called Obamacare to history in two years, to give time to Republicans to devise a replacement, could be debated and voted on next. But that measure, which non-partisan analysts say will take health insurance from more than 30 million people, has already failed to win enough support in the Republican party. <br/><br/>Other attempts to replace Obamacare have collapsed in recent weeks due to divisions in the party. President Trump had made scrapping the policy a key campaign pledge. He says, the system is torturing Americans. He secured a victory yesterday when the Senate agreed to allow the debate on health care legislation reform to go forward, but only after Republican Vice-President Mike Pence cast the tie-breaking vote in support of the bill.