[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 222 (Monday, November 20, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 80551-80552]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-25743]


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                         Presidential Documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 222 / Monday, November 20, 2023 / 
Presidential Documents  

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 Title 3--
 The President

[[Page 80551]]

                Proclamation 10674 of November 15, 2023

                
National Rural Health Day, 2023

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                America's rural communities are indispensable to who we 
                are as a Nation, where over 60 million people who live 
                in rural America fuel our economy and help forge our 
                future. On National Rural Health Day, we recommit to 
                investing in rural communities and delivering 
                affordable, quality health care so that generations of 
                rural Americans can thrive.

                No one should have to lie awake at night wondering if 
                they can afford or access health care for their family, 
                but that is the reality for so many in rural America. 
                Rural Americans are more likely to live in poverty, be 
                older, and have disabilities while also having fewer 
                health care providers within reach. We know that when 
                rural Americans do not have the chance to thrive in 
                their local economy, they leave home in search of 
                opportunity elsewhere. When they do, small businesses, 
                schools, and rural hospitals suffer, and the services 
                and support systems people need to succeed disappear. 
                Since 2010, over 150 rural hospitals have either closed 
                down or stopped providing in-patient care, damaging 
                rural economies where hospitals are often one of the 
                largest employers and leaving families scrambling for 
                health care.

                When I came into office, I was committed to investing 
                in rural America, starting with the health and well-
                being of its residents. Our American Rescue Plan 
                directed $8.5 billion to rural providers so they could 
                keep hospitals and clinics open during the pandemic. We 
                also supported the establishment of a new Rural 
                Emergency Hospital designation, which provides 
                struggling rural hospitals with a new option for 
                maintaining a presence within the community. We have 
                provided $1.5 billion in scholarships and student loan 
                assistance for rural clinicians and nurses so that 
                medical personnel can fill these critical roles.

                My Administration has also worked to modernize and 
                support rural health care facilities by providing 
                millions of dollars to provide direct health services, 
                expand infrastructure, and supply technical assistance 
                to rural hospitals facing financial distress. Further, 
                we have made historic investments in the expansion of 
                rural broadband and services that can be delivered via 
                telehealth to Medicare beneficiaries.

                We are also tackling some of the health crises that 
                impact rural communities by working to improve maternal 
                health, address the mental health crisis, and beat the 
                opioid epidemic. My Administration's Blueprint for 
                Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis lays out our 
                vision for making America the best country in the world 
                to have a baby. Expanding mental health and substance 
                use disorder services remains a core pillar of my Unity 
                Agenda. That is why we are recruiting, training, and 
                supporting more providers across the country as part of 
                the largest-ever investment in these types of programs.

                Additionally, we are investing in the next generation 
                of rural Americans, fighting for a future where all 
                children have the resources they need to live full and 
                healthy lives. That is why my Administration released a 
                national strategy to end hunger and reduce diet-related 
                diseases in America by 2030--including advancing a 
                pathway to provide free, healthy school meals for

[[Page 80552]]

                all children. We are also working to support schools in 
                sourcing more local food for on-campus meals, bringing 
                new revenue to farms and increased economic development 
                in rural communities.

                At the same time, we are lowering health care costs for 
                every American, no matter their zip code. We expanded 
                health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act, 
                saving millions of families up to $800 a year on their 
                health care premiums. I also signed the Inflation 
                Reduction Act, which capped the cost of insulin at $35 
                per month for people with Medicare. The Inflation 
                Reduction Act also empowered Medicare to negotiate 
                lower drug prices for the first time in American 
                history. The first ten drugs Medicare selected for 
                negotiation treat everything from blood clots to cancer 
                and are used by nine million people. Building on this 
                progress, we are also requiring prescription drug 
                companies to reimburse Medicare if they raise prices 
                for seniors at a higher rate than inflation, which will 
                save some seniors as much as $618 on every dose of 
                their medication.

                Finally, my Administration is implementing historic 
                legislation that will help rural Americans find more 
                opportunities in their hometowns. Through my Bipartisan 
                Infrastructure Law, rural Americans are being hired to 
                rebuild safer bridges, roads, and highways in their own 
                communities and to bring clean water, clean energy, and 
                high-speed internet to their neighbors. Companies are 
                investing hundreds of billions of dollars to create 
                thousands of jobs across America--including rural 
                America--and are manufacturing more products in rural 
                communities.

                I have often said that health care is a right, not a 
                privilege. On National Rural Health Day, we recommit to 
                this principle and to putting affordable, quality 
                health care within reach of all 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 16, 
                2023, 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 
                fifteenth day of November, 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. 2023-25743
Filed 11-17-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P