Approval for the massive health care reform bill is expected to come early Thursday morning in the U.S. Senate before Senators head home for the holiday.

Both U.S. Senator Robert Byrd and U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller are expected to vote in favor of the bill.

"There are so many good things in it for the country and, most importantly, for West Virginia," Senator Rockefeller said on Wednesday's MetroNews Talkline.  "You either go forwards or you go backwards.  You can't stay in place.  By voting no, you don't stay in place.  You go backwards."

While everything Senator Rockefeller wanted in health care reform is not included in the bill, he says the bill does do the following:

**insures 177,000 additional West Virginians

**expands Medicaid to 100,000 more people in the state

**extends the Children's Health Insurance Program which already covers 40,000 kids in West Virginia every year

**provides special health benefit protections for people considered to be in high risk jobs, including coal miners

**emphasizes Medicare prevention and wellness coverage for senior citizens

Even with all of those changes, Senator Rockefeller says the U.S. will spend less on health care over the next ten years with this health care bill.

There has been a lot of wheeling and dealing in the Senate to get the votes needed for approval.

"Am I bothered by it?  Yes.  Am I dominated by it?  No," Senator Rockefeller says of those deals.

"What I'm dominated by is the fact that we had to get 60 votes to prevail and there are only 60 Democrats.  Every single Republican in the Senate was going to vote no.  That was clear and obvious from the beginning."

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the Senate proposal will lead to better health care, lower costs over time and lead to broader access for many people.

"I think this is a very strong package of reforms that will be very good for the American economy and very good at trying to offer the prospect of improving care, expanding access and lowering future cost," Secretary Geithner told ABC News.

Once it's approved in the U.S. Senate, the bill next goes to a Congressional Conference Committee.  That's where the differences between it and the bill the House approved earlier this year will be addressed.

The House bill includes a public option for health care coverage for people who are not insured right now.  It also taxes wealthy Americans to generate money to pay for the changes.  The Senate bill taxes the best insurance plans currently being offered.