President Barack Obama vowed Saturday that the House of Representatives will get health care reform passed in an historic vote scheduled for Sunday.

In a rare Saturday appearance on Capitol Hill, the president made a last-minute push for the bill that would extend coverage to an estimated 32 million uninsured and forbid insurers from denying coverage because of of pre-existing medical conditions.

The president, joined by fellow Democrats, said the bill is “the single most important step that we have taken on health care since Medicare,” and called it a win-win for employers, workers and the economy.

“We are not bound to succeed, but we are bound to let whatever light we have shine. We have been debating healthcare for decades. It has now been debated for a year. It is in your hands,” said Obama. “It is time to pass health care for America and I am confident you are going to do it tomorrow.”

While Obama acknowledged the political difficulties many of the lawmakers faced in supporting an unpopular bill, he said it is “the single most important step that we have taken on health care since Medicare.”

“We’re a day away,” he said. “After a year of debate and arguments made by just about everyone, we’re 24 hours away.”

“The best for all Americans is to have 32 million more people have health insurance in our country. The best for our country is to have $1.3 trillion in deficit reduction,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

As of Saturday, reports said that Staten Island-Brooklyn Representative Michael McMahon was one of the undecided Democratic votes.

Meantime, party leaders said Saturday they were considering an executive order on abortion that would not require congressional approval. The order would reaffirm that no federal money can be used for abortions except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.

House leaders have decided on a straight up-or-down vote on the measure instead of a controversial indirect vote that would have relied on a legislative maneuver to approve the Senate’s version of the legislation.

Congressional analysts estimate the cost of the House and Senate bills combined would be $940 billion over a decade.

If enacted, the measure would constitute the biggest expansion of federal health care guarantees since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid over four decades ago. It would extend insurance coverage to an additional 32 million Americans, according to a preliminary analysis from the budget office.

Republicans contend the plan amounts to a government takeover of the private insurance system that will do little to slow spiraling medical costs.

Obama addressed those concerns Saturday, insisting there is no government takeover.

“We are making sure that the system of private insurance works for ordinary families,” he said, calling the legislation a “patient’s bill of rights on steroids” and “the toughest insurance reform in history.”

Republicans argue it would lead to higher premiums and taxes for middle-class families while resulting in deep Medicare cuts.

Among other things, the plan would expand Medicare prescription drug coverage, increase federal subsidies to help people buy insurance and ban denials of coverage for pre-existing conditions.

It seeks to bridge the gap between previous House and Senate bills partly by watering down and delaying the implementation of a tax on high-end insurance plans.

Republicans are fuming over the Democrats’ decision to use a legislative maneuver called reconciliation, that will allow the compromise measures — if passed by the House — to clear the Senate with a simple majority of 51 votes.

Senate Democrats lost their filibuster-proof 60-seat supermajority in January with the election of Republican Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts.

(Source: CNN / NY1 / Fox News)