Washington ( CNN ) -- Congress will miss President Obama 's deadline to enact health care reform by the end of the year , a key Democratic senator said Tuesday . Illinois ' Dick Durbin , the second-highest ranking Democrat in the Senate , said he hopes , at best , to pass the Senate 's version of a health care bill by that time . If the Senate manages to pass a bill , a congressional conference committee would need to merge the House and Senate proposals into a consensus version requiring final approval from each chamber before moving to Obama 's desk to be signed into law . Durbin 's assessment came as former President Clinton made a rare visit to Capitol Hill to discuss the health care issue with Senate Democrats . Clinton tried but ultimately failed to pass a health care overhaul in the early 1990s . The failure is considered one of the reasons for the GOP takeover of Congress in the 1994 midterm elections . `` Whatever their differences are , I just urged them to resolve their differences and pass a bill , '' Clinton said on Capitol Hill . `` I also believe , you know , people hired us to come to work in places like this to solve problems and stand up and do it . '' Clinton told the senators that they had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to push through a reform package that is crucial to the country 's long-term economic health . `` He made a strong case for getting it done this year , '' said Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon . `` He is brilliant , '' said Sen. Kent Conrad of North Dakota . `` He is able to penetrate through the fog of policy and politics better than any person I 've heard . '' Durbin blamed the shifting timeline on a slower-than-expected cost analysis from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office on legislation being crafted under Reid 's direction . He also cited an uncertain schedule for floor debate . Durbin said he hopes debate in the full Senate will begin before Thanksgiving . Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid himself has signaled uncertainty over whether the fractious Senate could meet Obama 's goal of passing a bill this year . Among the many obstacles Reid is facing is whether to include a government-run public option . The majority leader has proposed including an option that would give states until 2014 to decide whether to opt out . But several Democratic moderates -- as well as Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine , the lone Senate Republican to vote for reform -- have expressed deep reservations over the idea . Reid has little room to compromise and maneuver . He would need the support of every Senate Democrat and Connecticut independent Joe Lieberman -- an opponent of the public option -- to get the 60 votes necessary to cut off a likely GOP filibuster . Lieberman has faced a backlash from Democrats and liberal protesters over his threat to filibuster any bill that included a public option . On Tuesday , police arrested six demonstrators in Lieberman 's Capitol Hill office after a group protesting his views on health care legislation refused to leave . Lieberman was not there at the time . A group calling itself the Mobilization for Health Care for All littered the floor and hallway with symbolic `` money '' and said that campaign donations to Lieberman by the insurance industry have affected his judgment of health care legislation . The group is upset that Lieberman refuses to support the public option , which they believe would reduce the number of people without health care insurance . Democrats . meanwhile , could resort to reconciliation -- a budgetary maneuver that would require only a simple majority in the 100-vote chamber -- but such a move would add complications to the legislative process and further erode what is already a poisonous political atmosphere . Democratic leaders in the House and the Senate , however , have reached agreement on a broad range of changes that could affect every American 's coverage . Among other things , they have agreed to subsidize insurance for a family of four making up to roughly $ 88,000 annually , or 400 percent of the federal poverty level . They 've also agreed to expand Medicaid and create health insurance exchanges to make it easier for small businesses , the self-employed and the unemployed to pool resources and purchase less expensive coverage . They 'd also limit total out-of-pocket expenses and prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions . Insurers would also be barred from charging higher premiums based on a person 's gender or medical history . CNN 's Ted Barrett , Dana Bash , Paul Courson , Jill Dougherty , Brianna Keilar and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report .
Clinton hopes to have Capitol Hill version of bill passed by the early 1990s . President Dick Durbin makes Senate visit to talk about health care reform . Senate majority leader has expressed doubts about passing legislation . Public option remains major obstacle to reform measure .