Title: Financial Relief for Civilians Treated at Military Hospitals Act
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Financial Relief for Civilians Treated at Military Hospitals Act
This bill prohibits the Department of Defense from attempting to collect a debt owed by a civilian not covered under TRICARE for medical treatment at a military medical treatment facility. It also prohibits fees for certain emergency medical treatment provided to such civilians at such facilities.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4005 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4005

To amend title 31, United States Code, to address claims of the United 
 States Government relating to care received by civilians at military 
         medical treatment facilities, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             June 18, 2020

  Ms. Warren introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 31, United States Code, to address claims of the United 
 States Government relating to care received by civilians at military 
         medical treatment facilities, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Financial Relief for Civilians 
Treated at Military Hospitals Act''.

SEC. 2. DEBT ARISING FROM TREATMENT AT MILITARY MEDICAL TREATMENT 
              FACILITIES.

    Section 3711 of title 31, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (g)(2)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (A)(v), by striking ``and'' at 
                the end;
                    (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(C) to any debt or claim described in subsection (j).''; 
        and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(j) The Secretary of Defense may not take an action under 
subsection (a), and shall suspend or terminate an action by the 
Secretary of a military department under that subsection, to collect a 
claim arising from care provided at a military medical treatment 
facility to a civilian who is not a covered beneficiary (as that term 
is defined in section 1072 of title 10).''.

SEC. 3. LIMITATION ON FEES CHARGED TO CIVILIANS FOR EMERGENCY MEDICAL 
              TREATMENT PROVIDED AT MILITARY MEDICAL TREATMENT 
              FACILITIES.

    Section 1079b of title 10, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c); and
            (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new 
        subsection (b):
    ``(b) Limitation on Fees for Certain Treatment.--(1) Under the 
procedures developed under subsection (a), a military medical treatment 
facility may not charge a civilian who is not a covered beneficiary any 
fee for covered treatment provided to the civilian at the facility.
    ``(2) In this subsection, the term `covered treatment', with 
respect to treatment provided to a civilian at a military medical 
treatment facility, means emergency medical treatment that can be 
provided only at the military medical treatment facility due to the 
severity of the condition of the civilian and the location of the 
civilian.''.
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