TRICARE Equality Act

TRICARE Equality Act

This bill addresses the administration of Department of Defense (DOD) health care programs and benefits in Puerto Rico.

Specifically, the bill requires DOD to treat the administration of TRICARE Prime availability in Puerto Rico in a similar manner as a state.

The bill also requires DOD to ensure that, in providing travel and transportation allowances related to specialty medical treatment, individuals located in Puerto Rico are eligible to receive such allowances.

The Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization Office must coordinate with the Department of Health of Puerto Rico to share health information through the Joint Health Information Exchange.

[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 254 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 254

To amend title 10, United States Code, to improve the administration of 
      the TRICARE program in Puerto Rico, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 10, 2023

 Miss Gonzalez-Colon introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                   to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 10, United States Code, to improve the administration of 
      the TRICARE program in Puerto Rico, 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 ``TRICARE Equality Act''.

SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS RELATING TO ADMINISTRATION OF TRICARE PROGRAM IN 
              PUERTO RICO.

    (a) Improvements.--
            (1) In general.--Chapter 55 of title 10, United States 
        Code, is amended by inserting after section 1076f the following 
        new section (and conforming the table of sections at the 
        beginning of such chapter accordingly):
``Sec. 1076g. TRICARE program: administration in Puerto Rico
    ``(a) Availability of TRICARE Prime.--In designating geographical 
areas under section 1097(b)(3) of this title, the Secretary of Defense 
shall designate such areas in Puerto Rico in a similar manner used to 
designate such areas in the 50 States.
    ``(b) Expansion of Travel Benefits.--(1) In providing travel and 
transportation allowances under section 1074i of this title, the 
Secretary of Defense shall ensure that individuals located in Puerto 
Rico who, but for such location, would be eligible to receive such 
allowances pursuant to such section are eligible to receive such 
allowances.
    ``(2) The Secretary may revise the regulations prescribed under 
section 464 of title 37, or prescribe such new regulations, as may be 
necessary for the administration of paragraph (1).
    ``(c) Health Information Exchange.--The Director of the Federal 
Electronic Health Record Modernization Office shall coordinate with the 
Director of the Department of Health of Puerto Rico for the purpose of 
sharing health information through the Joint Health Information 
Exchange, or such successor initiative.
    ``(d) Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization Office.--In 
this section, the term `Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization 
Office' means the Office established under section 1635(b) of the 
Wounded Warrior Act (title XVI of Public Law 110-181; 10 U.S.C. 1071 
note).''.
            (2) Sunset.--Section 1076g of title 10, United States Code, 
        as added by paragraph (1), shall be repealed on the date on 
        which Puerto Rico is declared to be a State of the United 
        States of America and is admitted to the Union on equal footing 
        with the other States in all respects.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the 
Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the 
Senate a report on the progress of the Secretary in implementing the 
requirements of section 1076g of title 10, United States Code, as added 
by subsection (a)(1).
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