[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 212 (Friday, November 3, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 75457-75459]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24497]


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  Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 212 / Friday, November 3, 2023 / 
Presidential Documents  

[[Page 75457]]


                Proclamation 10663 of October 31, 2023

                
National Diabetes Month, 2023

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                One in ten Americans has diabetes, and of that group, 
                one in five of them do not know that they do. While 
                this chronic condition is becoming more common, there 
                is so much that we can do to help prevent and manage 
                it. During National Diabetes Month, we recommit as a 
                Nation to making treatment more affordable, improving 
                care, and finally finding a cure.

                Every day, millions of Americans with diabetes struggle 
                to afford life-saving insulin. It costs drug companies 
                just $10 a vial to produce, but some charge more than 
                30 times that amount. Americans across the country have 
                told me how those high prices sometimes force them to 
                ration their medication, too often resulting in 
                dangerous health complications that could have been 
                avoided. Too many of them know what it is like to lay 
                awake at night, staring at the ceiling, wondering how 
                to choose between putting food on the table and buying 
                the insulin they need to stay alive. It is wrong.

                I ran for President to rebuild the middle class--and 
                that includes working to make health care a right in 
                this country, not a privilege. For decades, big 
                pharmaceutical companies have blocked efforts to lower 
                prescription drug costs, but together, we took them on 
                and won. Last year, I signed the Inflation Reduction 
                Act, one of the most significant laws ever passed to 
                reduce prescription drug prices, capping insulin at $35 
                per month for seniors on Medicare, down from as much as 
                $400 per month. The Inflation Reduction Act finally 
                gave Medicare the ability to negotiate for lower drug 
                prices, starting this year with ten drugs--including 
                treatments for diabetes--benefiting more than nine 
                million Americans. The law also requires drug companies 
                that raise prices faster than inflation to pay the 
                difference back to the Government, saving seniors up to 
                $618 per dose of medication. Seniors and other Part D 
                enrollees with high drug spending will have their out-
                of-pocket drug costs capped at about $3,500 next year. 
                In 2025, the Inflation Reduction Act will cap total 
                out-of-pocket drug costs for all seniors on Medicare at 
                $2,000 per year, period. There is more to do, but these 
                steps will put money back in the pockets of millions of 
                families, easing fears and giving them just a little 
                more breathing room.

                While we keep working to make diabetes medications more 
                affordable, my Administration is also focused on 
                prevention, early interventions, improving treatments, 
                and finding a cure. Today, one in three American adults 
                has prediabetes, with a risk of developing Type 2 
                diabetes within 5 years. Diabetes has serious 
                consequences. It is a leading cause of death in the 
                United States, and once diagnosed, increases one's risk 
                of heart attack, stroke, blindness, kidney failure, and 
                loss of toes, feet, or legs. It is important to be 
                aware of diabetes risk factors, many of which relate to 
                nutrition and physical activity deficits. To learn more 
                about risk factors and how to combat prediabetes, visit 
                the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National 
                Diabetes Prevention Program: https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevention/index.html.

[[Page 75458]]

                Last year, we launched the Advanced Research Project 
                Agency for Health (ARPA-H) to drive breakthroughs in 
                preventing, detecting, and treating deadly diseases, 
                including diabetes. Research advances have already 
                helped develop several new diabetes drugs, including 
                the first that can delay the onset of Type 1 diabetes, 
                giving recently diagnosed people more time before 
                starting insulin. This year, the Food and Drug 
                Administration also approved the first cell therapy for 
                adults with Type 1 diabetes who cannot safely manage 
                their glucose levels with insulin as well as the first 
                new oral medication for children with Type 2 diabetes 
                in over two decades. We remain committed to robust 
                research investment and to providing pathways to drive 
                the development and delivery of additional, effective 
                treatments and much-needed cures.

                At the same time, we have expanded health coverage 
                nationwide and lowered health care costs for millions 
                of Americans, including the nearly 15 million Americans 
                who buy their coverage under the Affordable Care Act 
                and are saving $800 per year on their premiums. We are 
                also cracking down on surprise medical bills and junk 
                health insurance plans that look affordable but then 
                stick consumers with big hidden costs. Last year, we 
                held the first White House Conference on Hunger, 
                Nutrition, and Health in over 50 years where we 
                convened advocates, health care providers, food 
                companies, and officials from every level of 
                government. We have laid out a vision to prevent and 
                reduce the pervasiveness of diet-related disease, like 
                diabetes, across the United States by 2030, outlining a 
                comprehensive strategy to end hunger and put healthy 
                food on the table. Our plan incorporates steps to 
                better prevent and manage diabetes, including by 
                expanding access to nutrition counseling and working 
                with the Congress to make the Medicare Diabetes 
                Prevention Program permanent.

                We want all 37 million Americans with diabetes to know 
                that we have their backs and that the historic progress 
                we have made to lower insulin prices is just the first 
                step. This month, we celebrate the courage and 
                resilience of this community; and we honor the medical 
                professionals, loved ones, and advocates who do so much 
                to help support it and keep driving us toward a cure.

                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 the month of 
                November 2023 as National Diabetes Month. I call upon 
                all Americans, school systems, government agencies, 
                nonprofit organizations, health care providers, 
                research institutions, and other interested groups to 
                join in activities that raise diabetes awareness and 
                help prevent, treat, and manage this disease.

[[Page 75459]]

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

[FR Doc. 2023-24497
Filed 11-2-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P