To: National Desk

Contact: Brendan Daly or Jennifer Crider, 202-226-7616, both of the Office of Nancy Pelosi

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14 /U.S. Newswire/ -- House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi released the following statement today on America's Health Insurance Plans' (AHIP) proposal to extend health insurance to all Americans:

"I strongly commend the leaders of the nation's health insurers for their proposal to help ensure every American has access to health care coverage. Considering that nearly 47 million Americans are without health insurance, including more than 8 million children, we must consider closely any plans that would dramatically and quickly lower the number of uninsured.

"There are parts of the proposal by America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) that I strongly endorse, particularly those relating to SCHIP and Medicaid and other parts with which I disagree, including Universal Health Accounts. This nation needs a healthy debate on how we lower the number of uninsured and I urge other stakeholders in the health arena to come forward with proposals that address this urgent problem.

"The American people are demanding a new direction -- and Democrats will provide one with a commitment to more affordable health care and life-saving science. We will start by lowering drug prices by requiring the federal government to negotiate for better prices and removing the restriction on stem cell research to offer real hope to the millions of American families who suffer from devastating diseases."

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