The Senate Finance Committee Tuesday took the first major step toward revamping the nation’s health care, voting 14-9 in favor of an $829 billion reform package that the Congressional Budget Office says would not add to the federal budget deficit— even as it would require Americans to purchase health insurance and offer help to those who cannot afford it.

When the vote was over, Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said in a brief closing statement that the bill guarantees “in the United States of America no person goes broke just because he or she gets sick.”

Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine was the only Republican on the committee to support the measure. Even as she did, Snowe pointed out that voting it out of committee was just one step—with many more to come. Aside from Snowe, lawmakers on the panel split along party lines—13 Democrats supported the measure, nine Republicans opposed.

The vote marked the end of a significant chapter in this key reform effort. It came after months of marathon negotiating sessions, in which Baucus sought to fashion a bipartisan bill.

The bill, “moves us even closer to providing much-needed relief to millions of older Americans who still face challenges accessing affordable, quality health care services,”  said Nancy LeaMond, AARP executive vice president. 

Elaine S. Povich is a Washington writer who covers politics.