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Washington, November 18, 2010 /LGBT News/ Speaker Nancy Pelosi released the following statement yesterday on the new rules issued by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services requiring equal visitation rights for all hospital patients, empowering them to designate their own visitors, including a same-sex domestic partner:

"Today's announcement ensures that no one is denied the right to have the person they love by their side during a hospital stay. With these rules in place, all hospitals participating in Medicare or Medicaid must allow patients to receive visitors of their choosing and designate others to make decisions about medical care in the case of an emergency.

"For LGBT families, this change is long overdue – and it marks a critical step toward ending discrimination and upholding our nation's promise of equality for all. I applaud President Obama for initiating this process and Secretary Sebelius for her leadership in establishing these new regulations."

Photo: Jason Pier