[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 171 (Wednesday, September 6, 2023)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 60875-60876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19338]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 171 / Wednesday, September 6, 2023 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 60875]]


                Proclamation 10614 of August 31, 2023

                
National Recovery Month, 2023

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                During National Recovery Month, we celebrate the more 
                than 20 million Americans who have had the courage to 
                seek help for substance use disorder, showing millions 
                of others that recovery is possible. We honor their 
                resilience and recommit to making sure that every 
                American has access to the services and support they 
                need to rebuild lives of purpose and hope.

                Substance use disorder affects families in every corner 
                of our country. Drug overdoses last year took more than 
                100,000 American lives. Addressing this crisis is a 
                core pillar of my Unity Agenda--one of the big issues 
                we can tackle together as a Nation.

                That work starts by fulfilling the promise of true 
                parity for mental health and substance use disorder 
                treatment for all Americans. Mental health and 
                substance use disorder care is health care. It is 
                essential to people's well-being--to their ability to 
                lead full and productive lives, to find joy and 
                meaning, to take care of themselves and their loved 
                ones, and to give back to their communities and our 
                Nation. It is about dignity. Health insurers should 
                cover it the same way they would cover treatment for a 
                broken bone or any other kind of health condition. And 
                since I took office, that is what we have been fighting 
                to do.

                The American Rescue Plan delivered more than $5 billion 
                to expand mental health and substance use disorder 
                services. I have worked with a group of bipartisan 
                members of the Congress to make it easier for doctors 
                to prescribe effective treatments for opioid use 
                disorder, and the Food and Drug Administration has 
                approved two Naloxone products for over-the-counter 
                use, expanding access to life-saving opioid-reversal 
                medications that can prevent fatal overdoses. We have 
                expanded the Nation's system of Certified Community 
                Behavioral Health Clinics, opening 140 new centers to 
                provide frontline care, regardless of a patient's 
                ability to pay. We also launched a nationwide Suicide 
                and Crisis Lifeline (9-8-8), which connects callers to 
                trained counselors around the clock. The Department of 
                Labor created a Recovery-Ready Workplace Resource Hub 
                to help employers support and hire people in recovery.

                We have come a long way toward improving access to care 
                and building our Nation's recovery support services 
                infrastructure, but there is much more to do. Last 
                month, my Administration proposed a new rule that would 
                require health insurers to identify any gaps in the 
                mental health and substance use disorder care they 
                provide and to ensure that mental and physical health 
                services are equally accessible. We are also working 
                with States to ensure that millions of Medicaid 
                patients enrolled in private Medicaid health plans have 
                coverage for mental health and substance use disorder 
                services. In all, my Fiscal Year 2024 Budget requests a 
                historic $46 billion for prevention, treatment, and 
                recovery services for substance use disorder, as well 
                as reducing the supply of deadly drugs.

                Millions of Americans know and love someone who is in 
                recovery. We want everyone to know that they are never 
                alone. As a Nation working together, we can make 
                recovery real for more Americans.

[[Page 60876]]

                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 September 2023 
                as National Recovery Month. I call upon all citizens, 
                government agencies, private businesses, nonprofit 
                organizations, and other groups to take action to 
                promote recovery and improve the health of our Nation.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                thirty-first day of August, 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.
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                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2023-19338
Filed 9-5-23; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F3-P