[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 147 (Friday, July 31, 2015)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 45597-45598]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-18946]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 147 / Friday, July 31, 2015 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 45597]]

                Proclamation 9304 of July 27, 2015

                
World Hepatitis Day, 2015

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                Around the world, doctors, medical researchers, and 
                other professionals dedicated to health care and public 
                health are working hard every day to combat disease and 
                build healthier communities. Their efforts have led to 
                improved sanitation, cleaner water, better access to 
                care, and improvements in how we diagnose, treat, and 
                prevent disease. Today, on World Hepatitis Day, we join 
                in these efforts to improve lives here at home and 
                abroad by raising awareness of a silent epidemic and 
                reaffirming our commitment to combat it.

                Nearly 400 million people worldwide are living with 
                viral hepatitis, and more than 1 million people die 
                each year from this disease. Yet because hepatitis 
                often persists silently for years before revealing any 
                symptoms, many -- including about two-thirds of the 
                Americans who live with it -- are unaware of their 
                infection status, which can lead to long-term liver 
                damage and death.

                Prevention and early detection are essential to saving 
                lives. Safe and effective vaccines for hepatitis A and 
                B are widely available, and simple blood tests for 
                hepatitis B and C can lead to early detection and life-
                saving care and treatment, including the cure of the 
                infection. I encourage all Americans to ask their 
                health care provider about hepatitis, and to learn more 
                by visiting www.CDC.gov/Hepatitis.

                As President, I am committed to advancing the fight 
                against viral hepatitis infections. The Affordable Care 
                Act has increased access to quality, affordable health 
                care for millions of Americans -- creating more 
                opportunities for early detection of viral hepatitis -- 
                and it requires most insurance plans to cover 
                recommended preventive services without copays, 
                including hepatitis A and B vaccines and hepatitis B 
                and C screenings. New protections under the law also 
                eliminate annual and lifetime dollar limits on coverage 
                and prohibit insurers from denying coverage because of 
                pre-existing conditions, including hepatitis.

                Guided by our Action Plan for the Prevention, Care, and 
                Treatment of Viral Hepatitis, my Administration is 
                working with government, private, and non-profit 
                organizations to ensure that new cases of viral 
                hepatitis are prevented. We also remain invested in 
                addressing related health issues such as liver cancer, 
                HIV infection, and substance use disorders, and the 
                disproportionate impact viral hepatitis infections have 
                on African Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific 
                Islanders, and American Indians and Alaska Natives, as 
                well as our Nation's young people.

                Today, we renew our commitment to those impacted by 
                hepatitis and to all those we have lost to this 
                disease. Let us resolve to break the silence 
                surrounding hepatitis, and redouble our efforts to 
                defeat it in all its forms.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the 
                United States of America, by virtue of the authority 
                vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the 
                United States, do hereby proclaim July 28, 2015, as 
                World Hepatitis Day. I encourage citizens, Government 
                agencies, non-profit organizations, and communities 
                across the Nation to join in activities that

[[Page 45598]]

                will increase awareness about hepatitis and what we can 
                do to prevent it.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-seventh day of July, in the year of our Lord two 
                thousand fifteen, and of the Independence of the United 
                States of America the two hundred and fortieth.
                
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2015-18946
Filed 7-30-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3295-F5