A bill to direct the Secretary of Defense to provide certain TRICARE beneficiaries with the opportunity to retain access to TRICARE Prime.

Bill: 113-s-1078
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Klobuchar, Amy [D-MN]
Introduced: 2013-05-23
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security
Subjects: Military medicine

Military personnel and dependents
Latest action: action_date: 2013-05-23
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services.

Summaries:
action_date: 2013-05-23
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p>Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 to direct the Secretary of Defense (DOD) to ensure that each beneficiary other than an active-duty beneficiary who is enrolled in TRICARE Prime (a DOD managed health care program) as of September 30, 2013, may make a one-time election to continue such enrollment, notwithstanding that an existing TRICARE contract does not allow for such enrollment based on the location in which the beneficiary resides. Allows the beneficiary to continue in such enrollment while residing in the same ZIP Code in which the beneficiary resided at the time of election.</p> <p>Allows such a beneficiary to elect, at any time, to instead enroll in TRICARE Standard.</p>

tv_txt: II 113th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 1078 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 23, 2013 Ms. Klobuchar (for herself and Ms. Hirono ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Armed Services A BILL To direct the Secretary of Defense to provide certain TRICARE beneficiaries with the opportunity to retain access to TRICARE Prime.

1. Future availability of TRICARE Prime for certain beneficiaries enrolled in TRICARE Prime Section 732 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 ( Public Law 112–239 ; 126 Stat. 1816) is amended— (1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c); and (2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new subsection (b): (b) Access to TRICARE Prime (1) One-time election Subject to paragraph (3), the Secretary shall ensure that each affected eligible beneficiary who is enrolled in TRICARE Prime as of September 30, 2013, may make a one-time election to continue such enrollment in TRICARE Prime, notwithstanding that a contract described in subsection (a)(2)(A) does not allow for such enrollment based on the location in which such beneficiary resides. The beneficiary may continue such enrollment in TRICARE Prime so long as the beneficiary resides in the same ZIP code as the ZIP code in which the beneficiary resided at the time of such election. (2) Enrollment in TRICARE Standard If an affected eligible beneficiary makes the one-time election under paragraph (1), the beneficiary may thereafter elect to enroll in TRICARE Standard at any time in accordance with a contract described in subsection (a)(2)(A). (3) Residence at time of election An affected eligible beneficiary may not make the one-time election under paragraph (1) if, at the time of such election, the beneficiary does not reside in a ZIP code that is in a region described in subsection (c)(1)(B). .