Sec. 704. Access to urgent care under TRICARE program
295 words·~1 min read·
/bill/114/s/2943/eah/section-704·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Chapter 55 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1077 the following new section: Beginning not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that military medical treatment facilities, at locations the Secretary determines appropriate, provide urgent care services for members of the armed forces and covered beneficiaries until 11:00 p.m each day. With respect to areas in which a military medical treatment facility covered by paragraph
(1)is not located, the Secretary shall ensure that members of the armed forces and covered beneficiaries may access urgent care clinics that are open during the hours specified in such paragraph through the health care provider network under the TRICARE program. A covered beneficiary may access urgent care services without the need for preauthorization for such services. The Secretary shall— publish information about changes in access to urgent care under the TRICARE program— on the primary publicly available Internet website of the Department; and on the primary publicly available website of each military treatment facility; and ensure that such information is made available on the publically available Internet website of each current managed care contractor that has established a health care provider network under the TRICARE program. The Secretary shall ensure that the nurse advice line of the Department directs covered beneficiaries seeking access to care to the source of the most appropriate level of health care required to treat the medical conditions of the beneficiaries, including urgent care services described in subsection (a). . The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 1077 the following new item: 1077a. Access to military medical treatment facilities and other facilities .