The election of Barack Obama as the President of the United States has pushed major reform of the U.S. health care to the top of the policy agenda. Powerful Democratic Congressional leaders, from Speaker of the the U.S. House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi to Massachusetts Senator, Ted Kennedy, have pledged to take up a sweeping health-care measure over the course of the coming summer months, with the hope of  having a bill on the preisdent's desk by August 2009.