SENSE OF CONGRESS ON CONTINUITY OF HEALTH CARE SERVICES FOR COVERED BENEFICIARIES IN AREAS AFFECTED BY BASE CLOSURES.

SEC. 738. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON CONTINUITY OF HEALTH CARE SERVICES FOR COVERED BENEFICIARIES IN AREAS AFFECTED BY BASE CLOSURES. (a) Sense of Congress.— It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Defense should take all appropriate steps, including 108 STAT. 2814a limited continuation of services for managed health care currently provided to covered beneficiaries described in subsection (b) who are eligible for such services, to ensure the continuity of health care services for such beneficiaries during the procurement, transition, and initial implementation phases of a TRICARE managed care support contract for Health Services Regions of the Military Health Services System of Department of Defense. (b) Covered Beneficiaries Described.— The covered beneficiaries referred to in subsection (a) are covered beneficiaries under chapter 55, United States Code, who reside in areas adversely affected by the closure of a military installation under a base closure law (as defined in section 737(c)(1)). (c) TRICARE Defined.— For purposes of this section, the term “TRICARE” means the managed health care program that is established by the Secretary of Defense under the authority of chapter 55 of title 10, United States Code, principally section 1097 of such title, and includes the competitive selection of contractors to financially underwrite the delivery of health care services under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services.