Speaker Emerita Pelosi Named Recipient of AHA Award of Honor

WASHINGTON (April 18, 2023) -- The American Hospital Association (AHA) today announced that its 2023 Award of Honor will be presented to Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, for her incredible efforts in advancing health care throughout her career. The award is given to individuals or organizations in recognition of exemplary contributions to the health and well-being of our nation through leadership on major health policy or social initiatives. Speaker Emerita Pelosi will receive the award during a ceremony on April 24 at the AHA Annual Membership Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Speaker Emerita Pelosi was one of the central figures in the development and passage of the landmark Affordable Care Act, which has guaranteed protections for all Americans with pre-existing medical conditions, ended annual and lifetime limits on health coverage, and provided affordable health coverage for tens of millions more Americans. For decades, she has been a relentless leader on reducing the cost of prescriptions drugs by empowering Medicare to negotiate drug prices and capping out-of-pocket costs for seniors – an action enshrined into law in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.

“Throughout her career, Speaker Emerita Pelosi has been a friend to America’s hospitals and health systems,” said Rick Pollack, AHA president and CEO. “She is a champion for better health care, an advocate for patients, and she continues to work hard to expand opportunities for children, seniors, students, veterans and the poor.”

Speaker Emerita Pelosi was Speaker of the United House of Representatives twice, from 2007 to 2011 and from 2019 to 2023, the first woman to hold this position in U.S. history. She was first elected to Congress in 1987 and is now in her 19^th term.

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Contact:    Colin Milligan, cmilligan@aha.org
                  Ben Teicher, bteicher@aha.org