An Act to provide medical care for dependents of members of the uniformed services, and for other purposes.
PL 84-569 (H.R.9429), enacted 06/07/1956

250 
PUBLIC LAW B69-JUNE 7, 1956 
[70 STAT, 
Public Law 569 
CHAPTER 374 
June 7. 1956 
AN ACT 
'• ' ' 
•
* 
To provide medical care for dependents of members of tlie uniformed services, 
and for otlier purposes. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
Midfc^afcare^Acu' United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may 
be cited as the "Dependents' Medical Care Act". 
Purpose. 
««Uniformed eerv-
i c e s " . 
"Member of a uni-
formed service". 
"Retired member 
o f a u n i f Q rme d 
service". 
62 Stat. 1087. 
10 u s e 1 0 3 6 -
1036i and notes. 
66 Stat. 481. 
50 u s e 901. 
•Dependent' 
TITLE I 
SEC. 101. The purpose of this Act is to create and maintain high 
morale throughout the uniformed services by providing an improved 
and uniform program of medical care for members of the uniformed 
services and their dependents. 
SEC. 102. (a) As used in this Act— 
(1) The term "uniformed services" means the Army, the Navy, 
the Air Force, the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, the Commissioned 
Corps of the Coast and Geodetic Survey, and the Commissioned Corps 
of the Public Health Service. 
(2) The term "member of a uniformed service" means a person 
appointed, enlisted, inducted or called, ordered or conscripted in a 
uniformed service who is serving on active duty or active duty for 
training pursuant to a call or order that does not specify a period of 
thirty days or less. 
(3) The term "retired member of a uniformed service" means a 
member or former member of a uniformed service who is entitled to 
retired, retirement, or retainer pay or equivalent pay as a result of 
service in a uniformed service, other than a member or former member 
entitled to retired or retirement pay under title I I I of the Army and 
Air Force Vitalization and Retirement Equalization Act of 1948 who 
has served less than eight years of active duty as defined in section 
101 (b) of the Armed Forces Reserve Act of 1952. 
(4) The term "dependent" means any person who bears to a mem-
ber or retired member of a uniformed service, or to a person who died 
while a member or retired member of a uniformed service, any of the 
following relationships— 
(A) the lawful wife; 
(B) the unremarried widow; 
(C) the lawful husband, if he is in fact dependent on the 
member or retired member for over one-half of his support; 
(D) the unremarried widower, if he was in fact dependent 
upon the member or retired member at the time of her death for 
over one-half of his support because of a mental or physical 
incapacity; 
(E) an unmarried legitimate child (including an adopted 
child or stepchild), if such child has not passed his twenty-first 
birthday; 
(F) a parent or parent-in-law, if the said parent or parent-in-
law is, or was at the time of the member's or retired member's 
death, in fact dependent on the said member or retired member 
for over one-half of his support and is, or was at the time of the 
member's or retired member's death, actually residing in the 
household of the said member or retired member; or 
(G) an unmarried legitimate child (including an adopted 
child or stepchild) who (i) has passed his twenty-first birthday, 
if the child is incapable of self-support because of a mental or 
physical incapacity that existed prior to his reaching the age 
of twenty-one and is, or was at the time of the member's or retired 
to S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 569-JUNE 7, 1956 
251 
member's death, in fact dependent on him for over one-half of his 
support, or (ii) has not passed his twenty-third birthday and 
is enrolled in a full-time course of study in an institution of 
higher learning as approved by the Secretary of Defense or the 
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and is, or was at 
the time of the member's or the retired member's death, in fact 
dependent on him for over one-half of his support, 
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, the Secretary of 
Defense shall administer this Act for the Army, Navy, Air Force, and 
Marine Corps and for the Coast Guard when it is operating as a serv-
ice in the Navy, and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare 
shall administer it for the Coast and Geodetic Survey and the Public 
Health Service, and for the Coast Guard when it is not operating as a 
service in the Navy. 
SEC. 103. (a) Whenever requested, medical care shall be given de-
pendents of members of a uniformed service, and dependents of per-
sons who died while a member of a uniformed service, in medical facili-
ties of the uniformed services subject to the availability of space, facil-
ities, and the capabilities of the medical staff. 
Any determination 
made by the medical officer or contract surgeon in charge, or his 
designee, as to availability of space, facilities, and the capabilities of 
the medical staff, shall be conclusive. The medical care of such de-
pendents provided for in medical facilities of the uniformed services 
shall in no way interfere with the primary mission of those facilities. 
(b) In order to provide more effective utilization of medical facili-
ties of the uniformed services, the Secretary of Defense and the Secre-
tary of Health, Education, and Welfare shall jointly prescribe regula-
tions to insure that dependents entitled to medical care in a medical 
facility of a uniformed service under the provisions of this Act shall 
not be denied equal opportunity for medical care because of the service 
affiliation of the service member. 
(c) The Secretary of Defense, after consultation with the Secretary 
of Health, Education, and Welfare, shall establish fair charges for 
inpatient medical care given dependents in the facilities of the uni-
formed services, which charges shall be the same for all dependents. 
(d) As a restraint on excessive demands for medical care under 
this section, uniform minimal charges may be imposed for outpatient 
care but such charges shall be limited to such amounts, if any, as may 
be established by the Secretary of Defense after consultation with the 
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, under a special finding 
that such charges are necessary. 
(e) Any amounts that are received in payment for subsistence and 
medical care rendered dependents in facilities of the uniformed serv-
ices shall be deposited to the credit of the appropriation supporting 
the maintenance and operation of the facilities furnishing the care. 
(f) Medical care under this section shall be limited to the following: 
(1) Diagnosis; 
(2) Treatment of acute medical and surgical conditions; 
(3) Treatment of contagious diseases; 
(4) Immunization; and 
(5) Maternity and infant care. 
(g) (1) Hospitalization under this section is not authorized depend-
ents for domiciliary care. 
(2) Hospitalization under this section is not authorized dependents 
for nervous and mental disorders, chronic diseases, or elective medical 
and surgical treatments, except that the Secretary of Defense, after 
consultation with the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, 
by regulation, may provide in special and unusual cases for hospitali-
zation of not to exceed twelve months for dependents for such dis-
orders or such diseases, or for such treatments. 
Adtni ni strati on. 
U t i l i z a t i o n of 
medical facilities. 
Charges. 
Limitations. 
etc* 
252 
PUBLIC LAW 569-JUNE 7, 1956 
[TO STAT 
(h) Dependents shall not be provided under this section— 
(1) prosthetic devices, hearing aids, orthopedic footwear, and 
spectacles, except that outside the continental limits of the United 
States and at remote stations within the continental limits of 
the United States where adequate civilian facilities are not avail-
able, those items, if available, from Government stocks, may be 
provided to dependents at prices representing invoice cost to the 
Government; 
(2) ambulance service, except in acute emergency; 
(3) home calls, except in special cases where it is determined 
by the medical officer or contract surgeon in charge, or his designee, 
to be medically necessary; 
(4) dental care, except— 
(A) emergency care to relieve pain and suffering but not 
to include any permanent restorative work or 
dental 
prosthesis; 
(B) care as a necessary adjunct to medical or surgical 
treatment; and 
(C) outside the continental limits of the United States, 
and in remote areas within the continental limits of the 
United States where adequate civilian dental facilities are 
not available. 
TITLE I I 
Spouses andchiir 
§^0. 201. (a) In Order to assure the availability of medical care for 
Insurance plan, the spouscs and children who are dependents of members of the uni-
formed services, the Secretary of Defense, after consultation with 
the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, shall contract for 
medical care for such persons, pursuant to the provisions of this title, 
under such insurance, medical service, or health plan or plans as he 
deems appropriate, which plan or plans shall, subject to the provisions 
of section 204 hereof, include the following: 
(1) Hospitalization in semiprivate accommodations up to three 
hundred and sixty-five days for each admission, including all neces-
sary services and supplies furnished by the hospital during inpatient 
confinement; 
(2) Medical and surgical care incident to a period of hospital-
ization ; 
(3) Complete obstetrical and maternity service, including prenatal 
and postnatal care; 
(4) Required services of a physician or surgeon prior to and fol-
lowing hospitalization for a bodily injury or for a surgical operation; 
(5) Diagnostic tests and procedures, including laboratory and 
X-ray examinations, accomplished or recommended by a physician 
incident to hospitalization. 
For each admission the plan shall also provide for payment by the 
patient of hospital expenses incurred under paragraph (1) hereof 
in the amount of either (1^ $25 or (2) the charge established pursuant 
to section 103 (c) of this Act multiplied by the number of days hospi-
talized, whichever is the greater. 
(b) Subsection (a) shall be subject to such reasonable limitations, 
additions, exclusions, definitions, and related provisions as the Secre-
tary of Defense, after consultation with the Secretary of Health, 
Education, and Welfare, may deem appropriate, except that medical 
care normally considered to be outpatient care shall not be authorized 
by this subsection. 
(c) The dependents covered under this section may elect to receive 
medical care under the terms of this Act in either the facilities of a 
uniformed service under the conditions specified in title I of this Act 
or in the facilities provided for undpr such insurance, medical service, 
70 S T A T . ] 
PUBLIC LAW 569-JUNE 7, 1956 
253 
or health plan or plans as may be provided by the authority contained 
in this section, except that the right to such election may be limited 
under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, after con-
sultation with the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare, for 
such dependents residing m areas where the member concerned is 
assigned and where adequate medical facilities of a uniformed service 
are available for such dependents. 
SEC. 202. Any insurance, medical service, or health plan or plans 
which may be entered into by the Secretary of Defense with respect 
to medical care under the provisions of this Act shall contain a provi-
sion for a review, and, if necessary, an adjustment of payments by the 
Secretary of Defense or Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare 
not later than one hundred and twenty days after the first year the 
plan or plans have been in effect and each year thereafter. 
Within 
ninety days after each such review, the Secretary of Defense shall sub-
mit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and of the 
House of Representatives a report covering the payments made during 
the year reviewed, including any adjustment thereof. 
SEC. 203. In order to effectuate the purposes of this title, the Secre-
tary of Defense is authorized to establish insurance, medical service, 
and health plan advisory committees to advise, consult, and make 
recommendations to the Secretary of Defense, provided that the Secre-
tary issues regulations setting forth the scope, procedures, and activi-
ties of such committees. 
These committees shall consist of the Secre-
tary of Defense or his designee, who shall be chairman, and such other 
persons as the Secretary may appoint. 
Their members shall be, to the 
extent possible, representative of insurance, medical service, and 
health plan or plans, and shall serve without compensation but may 
be allowed transportation and per diem in lieu of subsistence and other 
expenses. 
SEC. 204. The scope of medical care provided under this title shall 
not exceed the maximum care provided under title I of this Act. 
TITLE I I I 
Review* 
Report to C o n -
g r e s s i o n a l com-' 
mittees. 
Adv i s o r y com-
mittee s> 
Scope of plan. 
SEC. 301. (a) Medical and dental care in any medical facility of the 
uniformed services shall, under regulations prescribed jointly by the 
Secretaries of Defense and Health, Education, and Welfare, be fur-
nished to all persons on active duty or active duty for training in the 
uniformed services. 
(b) Medical and dental care in any medical facility of the uni-
formed services may, under regulations prescribed jointly by the Secre-
taries of Defense and Health, Education, and Welfare, be furnished 
upon request and subject to the availability of space, facilities, and 
capabilities of the medical staff, to retired members of the uniformed 
services. 
(c) Medical care in any medical facility of the uniformed services 
may, under regulations prescribed jointly by the Secretaries of De-
fense and Health, Education, and Welfare, be furnished upon re-
quest and subject to the availability of space, facilities, and capabilities 
of the medical staff, to dependents of retired members of the uni-
formed services and dependents of persons who died while a retired 
member of a uniformed service, except that any such care furnished 
such dependents shall be limited to the care authorized dependents 
of members of the uniformed services under title I of this Act. 
(d) When a person receives inpatient medical or dental care pur-
suant to the provisions of this Act in a facility of a uniformed service 
that is not the service of which he is a member or retired member, or 
that is not the service of the member or retired member upon whom 
Med 
dental 
i c al 
a n d 
care. 
254 
PUBLIC LAW 570-JUNE 7, 1956 
[70 STATi 
S u b s i s t e n c e 
charges* 
Additional ho s ' 
pitalizatioTu 
Dependency de-
terminationsc 
Appropri ation. 
Repeals. 
10 u s e 96. 
24 u s e 32-36. 
Exception. 
58 Stat. 697. 
42 u s e 253. 
63 Stat. 201. 
10 u s e 456-456-2 
and notes. 
34 u s e 8 54f. 
Effective date. 
he is dependent, the appropriation supporting the maintenance and 
operation of the medical facility furnishing the medical care shall 
be reimbursed at rates established by the Bureau of the Budget to 
reflect the average cost of providing such care. 
SEC. 302. Commissioned officers and warrant officers, active and 
retired, shall pay an amount equal to the portion of the charge estab-
lished under section 103 (c) of this Act that is attributable to sub-
sistence when hospitalized in a medical facility of a uniformed service. 
Retired enlisted personnel, including members of the Fleet Reserve 
and the Fleet Marine Corps Reserve, shall not be charged for sub-
sistence when hospitalized in a medical facility of a uniformed service. 
SEC. 303. Where a person who is covered under an insurance, medi-
cal service, or health plan or plans, as provided in this Act, requires 
hospitalization beyond the period of time provided under such plan 
or plans, if such hospitalization is authorized in medical facilities of 
a uniformed service, such person may be transferred to a medical 
facility of a uniformed service for the continuation of such hospitali-
zation. Where movement to such medical facility is not feasible, the 
expenses for such additional hospitalization required by such person 
in a civilian facility are authorized to be paid, subject to such regula-
tions as the Secretary of Defense after consultation with the Secretary 
of Health, Education, and Welfare may prescribe. 
SEC. 304. All determinations made under this Act by the Secretary 
of Defense or the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare with 
respect to dependency shall be conclusive for all purposes and shall 
not be subject to review in any court or by any accounting officer of the 
Government, except for cases involving fraud or gross negligence. 
Such determinations may at any time be reconsidered or modified on 
the basis of new evidence or for other good cause. 
SEC. 305. There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums 
as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act. 
SEC. 306. The following laws and parts of laws are hereby repealed: 
(1) So much of the Act of July 5,1884 (ch. 217, 23 Stat. 107), as is 
contained in the proviso under the heading "Medical Departments"; 
(2) The Act of May 10, 1943 (ch. 95, 57 Stat. 80), except section 4 
of such Act, and except that part of section 5 which relates to persons 
outside the Naval Service mentioned in section 4 of such Act; 
(3) Section 326 (b) of the Public Health Service Act, except as it 
relates to dependent members of families of ships' officers and mem-
bers of crews of vessels of the Coast and Geodetic Survey; 
(4) Section 710 (a) of the Act of July 1, 1944 (ch. 373, 58 Stat. 
714), as amended; 
(5) Public Law 108, approved June 20, 1949, to the extent it au-
thorizes hospital benefits for dependents of members of the reserve 
components of the Armed Forces; 
(6) Section 207 of the Act of Jime 25, 1938 (52 Stat. 1180). 
SEC. 307. This Act shall become effective six months after the date 
of its enactment. 
Approved June 7, 1956. 
Tune 7, 1956 
IH. R. 4656] 
Public Law 570 
CHAPTER 375 
AN ACT 
Relating to the Liimbee Indians of North Carolina. 
Whereas many Indians now living in Robeson and adjoining counties 
are descendants of that once large and prosperous tribe which oc-
cupied the lands along the Lumbee River at the time of the earliest 
white settlements in that section; and