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

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.

Allows such a beneficiary to elect, at any time, to instead enroll in TRICARE Standard.

[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1971 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1971

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 14, 2013

  Mr. Kline (for himself and Mr. Thornberry) introduced the following 
      bill; which was 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.

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

SECTION 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 the following new subsection:
    ``(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).''.
                                 <all>