News
American Specialty Health's VP of Government Relations, Antonio Martinez II, Appointed to U.S. Delegation to Codex Commmission Meeting in Berlin, Germany
SAN DIEGO, CA (November 21, 2001) -- Antonio C. Martinez II, Vice President of Government Relations and Consumer Health Care Products legal counsel at American Specialty Health, Inc., was named to the nine-member U.S. Delegation to the 23rd Session of the Codex Commission on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses. The commission, which meets annually to update and revise the standards of the Codex Alimentarius, will convene Nov. 26-30, 2001.
The Codex Alimentarius serves as part of the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. It seeks to adopt trade and public health standards and harmonize regulations concerning food and nutrition, including dietary supplements. Mr. Martinez is a highly regarded attorney and lobbyist in the fields of Food & Drug and Health Care law, and is a policy expert on complementary and alternative health care. American Specialty Health is the nation's largest specialty health care organization for complementary health care services. The participation of American Specialty Health through Mr. Martinez is a first. He is the first health insurance company representative to be part of the U.S. delegation.
"Diet and nutrition are the most basic forms of complementary health care. The United States is a leader in this arena with highly skilled health professionals and the largest food and dietary supplement industries in the world. We look forward to contributing our insights and perspective through Tony," said George DeVries, chairman, president and CEO of American Specialty Health.
Mr. Martinez joins the U.S. Delegation led by Dr. Elizabeth Yetley Ph.D, from the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Ellen Matten from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Marnie Morrione from the U.S. Department of Commerce.
American Specialty Health and its affiliates provide benefit plan, network access and affinity discount programs nationwide to health plans, insurance carriers, employer groups and trust funds. Its comprehensive services include quality management, member and provider services, claims, utilization management and credentialing. Its affiliate American Specialty Health Plans® of California, Inc. (ASHP) is the nation's first and largest health plan for chiropractic and acupuncture services, operating in California.
American Specialty Health has been awarded full accreditation by the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission/URAC for the quality of its health care operations. Its affiliates American Specialty Health Plans and American Specialty Health Networks have received URAC accreditation for their chiropractic and acupuncture programs in each of the following five areas: Health Utilization Management, Health Plan, Health Network with Credentialing, Workers' Compensation Utilization Management and Workers' Compensation Network. Based in San Diego, American Specialty Health has over 500 employees and covers more than 65 million members nationwide.