Nov 10 (Reuters) - Although the U.S. House (of Representatives) has approved sweeping healthcare reform, the legislation still has a long way to go before reaching President Barack Obama for his signature.

Senate leaders are now working to finalize a bill that will go to the floor for debate. Once the Senate acts, the two chambers will have to work out differences between their two versions, vote on a merged bill, and send it to Obama.

Here are some potential sticking points as legislation advances through the Senate. Details on the Senate version reflect a version passed by the Senate Finance Committee. Senate leaders have yet to unveil their version.

* Public Option

The House bill includes a new government-run health insurance plan that would be offered on proposed new insurance exchanges where people could shop for coverage. It is meant to compete with private insurance policies to keep prices down and reduce the number of people without health coverage.

The Senate may pass a more limited public option under which there would be a "trigger" allowing states to offer such a plan only if insurance market reforms fail to meet cost and coverage targets.

* Financing

This could be the biggest sticking point between the two chambers.

The House pays for the roughly $1 trillion price tag for its bill, which would extend coverage to an estimated 36 million uninsured Americans, chiefly by imposing a 5.4 percent surtax on wealthy people.