H. R. 1815—206
be renewed by the member during the open enrollment period 
provided under paragraph (1) or at such other time as the Secretary 
considers appropriate. 
‘‘(3) A member eligible under subsection (a) may not enroll 
or renew an enrollment in TRICARE Standard under this section 
unless the member is committed to a period of obligated service 
in the Selected Reserve that extends through the enrollment period. 
‘‘(d) SCOPE OF CARE.—(1) A member and the dependents of 
a member enrolled in TRICARE Standard under this section shall 
be entitled to the same benefits under this chapter as a member 
of the uniformed services on active duty or a dependent of such 
a member, respectively, is entitled to under TRICARE Standard. 
‘‘(2) Section 1074(c) of this title shall apply with respect to 
a member enrolled in TRICARE Standard under this section. 
‘‘(e) PREMIUMS.—(1) The Secretary of Defense shall charge pre-
miums for coverage pursuant to enrollments under this section. 
The Secretary shall prescribe for each of the TRICARE Standard 
program options a premium for self alone coverage and a premium 
for self and family coverage. 
‘‘(2) The monthly amount of the premium in effect for a month 
for a type of coverage under this section shall be as follows: 
‘‘(A) For members eligible under paragraph (1) or (2) of 
subsection (a), the amount equal to 50 percent of the total 
amount determined by the Secretary on an appropriate actu-
arial basis as being reasonable for the coverage. 
‘‘(B) For members eligible under paragraph (3) of subsection 
(a), the amount equal to 85 percent of the total amount deter-
mined by the Secretary on an appropriate actuarial basis as 
being reasonable for the coverage. 
‘‘(3) In determining the amount of a premium under paragraph 
(2), the Secretary shall use the same actuarial basis as used under 
section 1076d of this title for determining the amount of premiums 
under that section. 
‘‘(4) The premiums payable by a member under this subsection 
may be deducted and withheld from basic pay payable to the 
member under section 204 of title 37 or from compensation payable 
to the member under section 206 of such title. The Secretary shall 
prescribe the requirements and procedures applicable to the pay-
ment of premiums by members. 
‘‘(5) Amounts collected as premiums under this subsection shall 
be credited to the appropriation available for the Defense Health 
Program Account under section 1100 of this title, shall be merged 
with sums in such Account that are available for the fiscal year 
in which collected, and shall be available under subsection (b) 
of such section for such fiscal year. 
‘‘(f) OTHER CHARGES.—A person who receives health care pursu-
ant to an enrollment in TRICARE Standard under this section, 
including a member who receives such health care, shall be subject 
to the same deductibles, copayments, and other nonpremium 
charges for health care as apply under this chapter for health 
care provided under TRICARE Standard to dependents described 
in subparagraph (A), (D), or (I) of section 1072(2) of this title. 
‘‘(g) TERMINATION
OF ENROLLMENT.—(1) A member enrolled 
in TRICARE Standard under this section may terminate the enroll-
ment only during an open enrollment period provided under sub-
section (c).
H. R. 1815—207
‘‘(2) An enrollment of a member for self alone or for self and 
family under this section shall terminate on the first day of the 
first month beginning after the date on which the member ceases 
to be eligible under subsection (a). 
‘‘(3) The enrollment of a member under this section may be 
terminated on the basis of failure to pay the premium charged 
the member under this section. 
‘‘(h) RELATIONSHIP TO TRANSITION TRICARE COVERAGE UPON 
SEPARATION FROM ACTIVE DUTY.—A member is not eligible for 
TRICARE Standard under this section while entitled to transitional 
health care under subsection (a) of section 1145 of this title or 
while authorized to receive health care under subsection (c) of 
such section. 
‘‘(i) NONCOVERAGE BY OTHER HEALTH BENEFITS PLAN.—(1) For 
purposes of subsection (a)(2), a person shall be considered to be 
not eligible for health care benefits under an employer-sponsored 
health benefits plan only if the person—
‘‘(A) is employed by an employer that does not offer a 
health benefits plan to anyone working for the employer; 
‘‘(B) is in a category of employees to which the person’s 
employer does not offer a health benefits plan, if such category 
is designated by the employer based on hours, duties, employ-
ment agreement, or such other characteristic, other than mem-
bership in the Selected Reserve, as the regulations admin-
istering this section prescribe (such as part-time employees); 
or 
‘‘(C) is self-employed. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary of Defense may require a member to submit 
any certification that the Secretary considers appropriate to 
substantiate the member’s assertion that the member is not eligible 
for health care benefits under an employer-sponsored health bene-
fits plan. 
‘‘(j) 
ELIGIBLE
UNEMPLOYMENT
COMPENSATION
RECIPIENT 
DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘eligible unemployment com-
pensation recipient’ means, with respect to any month, any indi-
vidual who is determined eligible for any day of such month for 
unemployment compensation under State law (as defined in section 
205(9) of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation 
Act of 1970), including Federal unemployment compensation laws 
administered through the State. 
‘‘(k) TRICARE STANDARD DEFINED.—In this section, the term 
‘TRICARE Standard’ has the meaning provided by section 1076d(f) 
of this title. 
‘‘(l) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary of Defense, in consultation 
with the other administering Secretaries, shall prescribe regulations 
for the administration of this section.’’. 
(2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at the 
beginning of chapter 55 of title 10, United States Code, is 
amended by striking the item relating to section 1076b and 
inserting the following:
‘‘1076b. TRICARE program: TRICARE Standard coverage for members of the Se-
lected Reserve.’’.
(b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The Secretary of Defense shall ensure 
that health care under TRICARE Standard is provided under sec-
tion 1076b of title 10, United States Code, as amended by this 
section, beginning not later than October 1, 2006.
H. R. 1815—208
Subtitle B—TRICARE Program 
Improvements 
SEC. 711. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION REQUIRED BY SURVEYS ON 
TRICARE STANDARD. 
Section 723(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for 
Fiscal Year 2004 (Public Law 108–136; 117 Stat. 1532; 10 U.S.C. 
1073 note) is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(4) Surveys required by paragraph (1) shall include questions 
seeking to determine from health care providers the following: 
‘‘(A) Whether the provider is aware of the TRICARE pro-
gram. 
‘‘(B) What percentage of the provider’s current patient 
population uses any form of TRICARE. 
‘‘(C) Whether the provider accepts patients for whom pay-
ment is made under the medicare program for health care 
services. 
‘‘(D) If the provider accepts patients referred to in subpara-
graph (C), whether the provider would accept additional such 
patients who are not in the provider’s current patient popu-
lation.’’. 
SEC. 712. AVAILABILITY OF CHIROPRACTIC HEALTH CARE SERVICES. 
(a) AVAILABILITY OF CHIROPRACTIC HEALTH CARE SERVICES.—
The Secretary of the Air Force shall ensure that chiropractic health 
care services are available at all medical treatment facilities listed 
in table 5 of the report to Congress dated August 16, 2001, titled 
‘‘Chiropractic Health Care Implementation Plan’’. If the Secretary 
determines that it is not necessary or feasible to provide chiropractic 
health care services at any such facility, the Secretary shall provide 
such services at an alternative site for each such facility. 
(b) IMPLEMENTATION AND REPORT.—Not later than September 
30, 2006, the Secretary of the Air Force shall—
(1) implement subsection (a); and 
(2) submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the 
Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the avail-
ability of chiropractic health care services as required under 
subsection (a), including information on alternative sites at 
which such services have been made available. 
SEC. 713. SURVIVING-DEPENDENT ELIGIBILITY UNDER TRICARE 
DENTAL PLAN FOR SURVIVING SPOUSES WHO WERE ON 
ACTIVE DUTY AT TIME OF DEATH OF MILITARY SPOUSE. 
Section 1076a(k) of title 10, United States Code, is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(k) ELIGIBLE DEPENDENT DEFINED.—(1) In this section, the 
term ‘eligible dependent’ means a dependent described in subpara-
graph (A), (D), or (I) of section 1072(2) of this title. 
‘‘(2) Such term includes any such dependent of a member who 
dies while on active duty for a period of more than 30 days or 
a member of the Ready Reserve if, on the date of the death of 
the member, the dependent—
‘‘(A) is enrolled in a dental benefits plan established under 
subsection (a); or 
‘‘(B) if not enrolled in such a plan on such date—
H. R. 1815—209
‘‘(i) is not enrolled by reason of a discontinuance of 
a former enrollment under subsection (f); or 
‘‘(ii) is not qualified for such enrollment because—
‘‘(I) the dependent is a child under the minimum 
age for such enrollment; or 
‘‘(II) the dependent is a spouse who is a member 
of the armed forces on active duty for a period of 
more than 30 days. 
‘‘(3) Such term does not include a dependent by reason of 
paragraph (2) after the end of the three-year period beginning 
on the date of the member’s death.’’. 
SEC. 714. EXCEPTIONAL ELIGIBILITY FOR TRICARE PRIME REMOTE. 
Section 1079(p) of title 10, United States Code, is amended—
(1) by redesignating paragraph (4) as paragraph (5); and 
(2) by inserting after paragraph (3) the following new para-
graph: 
‘‘(4) The Secretary of Defense may provide for coverage of 
a dependent referred to in subsection (a) who is not described 
in paragraph (3) if the Secretary determines that exceptional cir-
cumstances warrant such coverage.’’. 
SEC. 715. INCREASED PERIOD OF CONTINUED TRICARE PRIME COV-
ERAGE OF CHILDREN OF MEMBERS OF THE UNIFORMED 
SERVICES WHO DIE WHILE SERVING ON ACTIVE DUTY 
FOR A PERIOD OF MORE THAN 30 DAYS. 
(a) PERIOD OF ELIGIBILITY.—Section 1079(g) of title 10, United 
States Code, is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(g)’’; 
(2) by striking the second sentence; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 
‘‘(2) In addition to any continuation of eligibility for benefits 
under paragraph (1), when a member dies while on active duty 
for a period of more than 30 days, the member’s dependents who 
are receiving benefits under a plan covered by subsection (a) shall 
continue to be eligible for benefits under TRICARE Prime during 
the three-year period beginning on the date of the member’s death, 
except that, in the case of such a dependent of the deceased who 
is described by subparagraph (D) or (I) of section 1072(2) of this 
title, the period of continued eligibility shall be the longer of the 
following periods beginning on such date: 
‘‘(A) Three years. 
‘‘(B) The period ending on the date on which such 
dependent attains 21 years of age. 
‘‘(C) In the case of such a dependent who, at 21 years 
of age, is enrolled in a full-time course of study in a secondary 
school or in a full-time course of study in an institution of 
higher education approved by the administering Secretary and 
was, at the time of the member’s death, in fact dependent 
on the member for over one-half of such dependent’s support, 
the period ending on the earlier of the following dates: 
‘‘(i) The date on which such dependent ceases to pursue 
such a course of study, as determined by the administering 
Secretary. 
‘‘(ii) The date on which such dependent attains 23 
years of age. 
‘‘(3) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(C), a dependent shall 
be treated as being enrolled in a full-time course of study in an