[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 223 (Monday, November 21, 2022)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 70701-70702]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25451]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 223 / Monday, November 21, 2022 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 70701]]

                Proclamation 10497 of November 16, 2022

                
National Rural Health Day, 2022

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                On National Rural Health Day, we recommit to delivering 
                quality, affordable health care to every zip code in 
                America by making insurance and prescription drugs more 
                affordable, expanding mental health and substance use 
                disorder services, and by keeping rural facilities open 
                and staffed with dedicated doctors, nurses, and other 
                health professionals.

                We have made progress, but challenges remain. For too 
                long, rural hospitals and clinics have been closing, 
                resulting in trauma patients in rural areas often 
                needing to travel twice as far for care and 
                experiencing a higher rate of fatality compared to 
                Americans living in urban areas. These closures are 
                also damaging to rural economies, where hospitals are 
                often the biggest employers in town. Hunger and diet-
                related diseases are also more common in rural areas, 
                deepening health inequities. And the COVID-19 pandemic 
                further strained an already strapped system.

                My Administration is fighting to change this. The 
                American Rescue Plan directed $8.5 billion to help 
                rural providers cover soaring costs associated with 
                COVID-19--keeping rural hospitals and clinics open and 
                contributing to nearly 700,000 previously uninsured 
                rural Americans gaining health care coverage. To 
                continue this progress, we established a new Rural 
                Emergency Hospital designation with additional Medicare 
                reimbursement to help improve access to emergency and 
                outpatient care. We have provided $1.5 billion in 
                scholarships and student loan assistance for rural 
                clinicians and nurses, including over 20,000 National 
                Health Service Corps members working in underserved 
                areas. In addition, we launched an innovative program 
                to train rural providers through the Department of 
                Veterans Affairs to better serve the nearly five 
                million veterans who live in rural areas. We are also 
                helping to build and renovate rural facilities while 
                boosting access to telehealth--a lifeline in remote 
                areas--with historic investments in rural broadband and 
                expansion of services that can be delivered via 
                telehealth to providers serving Medicare beneficiaries. 
                Meanwhile, the Inflation Reduction Act is lowering 
                health insurance premiums under the Affordable Care Act 
                and capping drug costs for seniors on Medicare at 
                $2,000 a year and insulin at $35 per prescription per 
                month.

                At the same time, we are expanding mental health and 
                substance use disorder services, supporting community 
                health centers, training specialists, and sponsoring 
                initiatives that reduce the stigma often associated 
                with those conditions. Addressing the mental health 
                crisis and beating the drug overdose epidemic, which 
                cuts short so many lives in rural America, are urgent 
                priorities for the Nation and key pillars of my 
                Administration's Unity Agenda.

                Finally, we are also improving rural health by making 
                sure no child in America goes to bed hungry and no 
                family has to second-guess the safety of the water they 
                drink. In September, I convened the first White House 
                Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in over 50 
                years, and released a national strategy to combat 
                hunger and improve nutrition for every American. As 
                part of the strategy, we are carving a pathway for all 
                children to get free and healthy school meals and 
                expanding efforts to increase access to local foods. 
                This will benefit rural families as well as local 
                farmers.

[[Page 70702]]

                Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are 
                working with State, local, and Tribal partners to 
                replace lead pipes, get rid of lead paint, and deliver 
                clean water to every home nationwide.

                We all benefit from the work rural Americans do to feed 
                and fuel the Nation. Rural families deserve to pursue 
                their dreams without worrying that the nearest hospital 
                is too far or that their children and jobs will move 
                away because health care is just too hard to find at 
                home. Health care is a right, not a privilege, and I 
                will never quit fighting for rural Americans.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., 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 November 17, 
                2022, as National Rural Health Day. I call upon the 
                people of the United States to reaffirm our dedication 
                to the health and well-being of rural America.

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

[FR Doc. 2022-25451
Filed 11-18-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P