Nancy Pelosi: Insurance companies funneled between $10M and $20M to fund deceptive television ads

Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement today on a news report (http://undertheinfluence.nationaljournal.com/2010/01/health-insurers-funded-chamber.php) showing that the nation's largest insurance companies funneled between $10 million and $20 million through the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to fund deceptive television ads opposing health insurance reform. The article by National Journal (http://undertheinfluence.nationaljournal.com/2010/01/health-insurers-funded-chamber.php) also reveals that the effort was well underway even as the insurance companies were publicly claiming to support health reform:

"These big insurance companies appear to have gotten caught secretly bankrolling the effort to kill health insurance reform for millions of Americans, despite their disingenuous claims of support for the legislation. This duplicity is not surprising coming from an industry that has used every method to try to kill health insurance reform that would save lives, save money, save jobs, and save Medicare.

"The insurance industry has spent millions of dollars on the wrong side of history -- standing in the way of progress for our workers, families, and businesses, by secretly funding a campaign to maintain a health insurance system of high costs, limited access, and arbitrary cut-offs for American consumers.

"Congress is working with President Obama and thousands of health, consumer, and labor organizations across the nation to finalize health insurance reform that ensures affordability for the middle class, accountability for the insurance industry, and access for millions more Americans. But Americans should judge these deceptive ads for what they are -- now that they know who has been paying the tab."