In the UK we take the free universal healthcare of the NHS for granted, but things could not be more different across the pond. In 2010 Barack Obama signed a long-awaited healthcare reform bill that was groundbreaking but politically explosive.

Healthcare reform was the first big policy deal taken on by the Obama administration but it took more than a year to get even a watered-down version signed into law. FRONTLINE goes behind closed doors at the White House, in Congress and the boardrooms of the giant healthcare lobby to examine the political battles and costly compromises that defined Barack Obama’s endeavour.

From early positive efforts, through the bitter battles with the Tea Party, the elation of apparent success at Christmas, to the crushing failure in the Massachusetts Senatorial election, Obama’s Deal follows the story and takes an in-depth look at how the Obama administration operates.

Veteran FRONTLINE producer Michael Kirk (Bush’s War, Dreams of Obama, Inside the Meltdown, The Warning) provides a sobering exposé of the realities of American politics, the power of special interest groups, and the role of money in policy making.

Despite the setbacks, thousands have already benefited from the improved health cover but ‘Obamacare’ is still bitterly opposed by the right wing. As the US goes to the polls it remains to be seen if the president will get a mandate to pursue his dream.