Presidential Document2022-25451
National Rural Health Day, 2022
Primary source
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Published
November 21, 2022
Signed
November 16, 2022
Issuing agencies
Executive Office of the President
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 223 (Monday, November 21, 2022)</title>
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[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 [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-25451]
Presidential Documents
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 223 / Monday, November 21, 2022 /
Presidential Documents
___________________________________________________________________
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.
<GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
(Presidential Sig.)
[FR Doc. 2022-25451
Filed 11-18-22; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on November 21, 2022.
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