EXCEPTIONS TO REQUIREMENTS REGARDING OBTAINING NONAVAILABILITY-OF-HEALTH-CARE STATEMENTS.

SEC. 734. EXCEPTIONS TO REQUIREMENTS REGARDING OBTAINING NONAVAILABILITY-OF-HEALTH-CARE STATEMENTS. (a) Reference to Inpatient Medical Care.— (1) Section 1080(a) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting “inpatient” before “medical care” in the first sentence. (2) Section 1086(e) of such title is amended in the first sentence by striking out “benefits” and inserting in lieu thereof “inpatient medical care”. (b) Waivers and Exceptions to Requirements.— (1) Section 1080 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(c) Waivers and Exceptions to Requirements.— (1) A covered beneficiary enrolled in a managed care plan offered pursuant to any contract or agreement under this chapter for the provision of health care services shall not be required to obtain a nonavailability-of-health-care statement as a condition for the receipt of health care. “(2) The Secretary of Defense may waive the requirement to obtain nonavailability-of-health-care statements following an evaluation of the effectiveness of such statements in optimizing the use of facilities of the uniformed services.”. (2) Section 1086(e) of such title is amended in the last sentence by striking out “section 1080(b)” and inserting in lieu thereof “subsections (b) and (c) of section 1080”. (c) Conforming Amendments.— Section 1080(b) of such title is amended— (1) by striking out “5Nonavailability of Health Care Statements” and inserting in lieu thereof “Nonavailability-of-Health-Care Statements”; and (2) by striking out “nonavailability of health care statement” and inserting in lieu thereof “nonavailability-of-health-care statement”.