A procedural measure to be followed in voting on U. S. healthcare reform was approved by a majority by the House on Sunday.

By a vote of 224-206, the House adopted rules for the debate to precede a final vote on legislation supporters say will extend access to healthcare insurance for tens of millions of Americans and eliminate exclusions for those with pre-existing conditions.

The White House has said that the vote came after anti-abortion Democrats said they had reached a deal with the White House, ensuring enough votes for House passage of healthcare reform. Under the deal, President Barack Obama would sign an executive order stipulating no federal funding will pay for abortion under healthcare reform.

At least eight other anti-abortion House Democrats were joined by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., to announce the deal at a news conference. All nine said they would support the healthcare bill.

Stupak said, "We are very pleased with this order." "We're well past 216" votes, the amount needed for passage in the House, Stupak said in answer to a reporter's question.

The Congressional Budget Office revised the bill's cost estimate to $938 billion over 10 years, based on changes made by Democrats Saturday. That would be more than covered by new tax revenues and spending cuts, including $500 billion from a program known as Medicare Advantage, resulting in a $138 billion reduction in the deficit, the CBO said.

The measure would extend insurance coverage to more than 30 million Americans who have none, add millions of people to Medicaid rolls and forbid insurance companies to deny coverage because of pre-existing conditions. All Americans would have to have insurance or face fines, and business would be required to provide coverage for employees. (With Inputs from Agencies)