TRICARE program: contractor payment of certain claims
(a)
Payment of Claims .—
(1)
The Secretary of Defense may authorize a contractor under the TRICARE program to pay a claim described in paragraph (2) before seeking to recover from a third-party payer the costs incurred by the contractor to provide health care services that are the basis of the claim to a beneficiary under such program.
(2)
A claim under this paragraph is a claim—
(A)
that is submitted to the contractor by a provider under the TRICARE program for payment for services for health care provided to a covered beneficiary; and
(B)
that is identified by the contractor as a claim for which a third-party payer may be liable.
(b)
Recovery From Third-Party Payers .—
section 1095 of this titleThe United States shall have the same right to collect charges related to claims described in subsection (a) as charges for claims under .
(c)
Definition of Third-Party Payer .—
section 1095(h) of this titleIn this section, the term “third-party payer” has the meaning given that term in , except that such term excludes primary medical insurers.
Pub. L. 106–65section 1095 of this titlesection 1095 of this title1999—Subsec. (b). substituted “The United States shall have the same right to collect charges related to claims described in subsection (a) as charges for claims under .” for “A contractor for the provision of health care services under the TRICARE program that pays a claim described in subsection (a)(2) shall have the right to collect from the third-party payer the costs incurred by such contractor on behalf of the covered beneficiary. The contractor shall have the same right to collect such costs under this subsection as the right of the United States to collect costs under .”