Pelosi Statement on President Obama's Speech to AMA on Urgent Need for Health Care Reform

Pelosi Statement on President Obama's Speech to AMA on Urgent Need for Health Care Reform

Monday, June 15, 2009

Contact: Brendan Daly/Nadeam Elshami/Drew Hammill, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today on President Obama's speech in Chicago to the American Medical Association, in which he clearly described the urgent need for health care reform:

â€Å"President Obama made a clear and compelling case today for how the Administration and Congress are working together on a uniquely American solution for quality, affordable health care right now. As the President said, American families and businesses cannot afford for us to fail. Fixing health care is the single best way to improve our nation's fiscal future-and is critical to our economic recovery.

â€Å"We will reduce your health care costs, offer more choices, provide more security and peace of mind, and refocus our system on quality, patient-centered care. As part of this reform, Americans who like their health plan and their doctor now can keep that plan and that doctor. Americans who need more affordable care will be able to choose a plan they can afford and that meets their needs. And as the President said, one of those options needs to be a public plan.

â€Å"We will end a system that locks Americans into their jobs to keep their health coverage, or that denies coverage based on pre-existing conditions. We will better inform and empower doctors and nurses to make decisions that meet their patients' individual needs, and make prevention and wellness care the foundation for a healthier America.”