IMPROVED EFFICIENCY IN HEALTH CARE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.

SEC. 302. IMPROVED EFFICIENCY IN HEALTH CARE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. (a) Temporary Expansion of Authority for Sharing Agreements.—Section 201 of the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–585; 38 U.S.C. 8111 note) is amended— (1) by inserting “(a) Authority.—” before “The Secretary of Veterans Affairs”; and (2) by adding at the end thereof the following new subsection: “(b) Use of Funds.—Any amount received by the Secretary from a non-Federal entity as payment for services provided by the Secretary during a prior fiscal year under an agreement entered into under this section may be obligated by the Secretary during the fiscal year in which the Secretary receives the payment.”. (b) Repeal of Sunset Provision.—(1) Section 204 of such Act (38 U.S.C. 8111 note) is repealed. (2) Any services provided pursuant to agreements entered into under section 201 of such Act (38 U.S.C. 8111 note) during the period beginning on October 1, 1996, and ending on the date of the enactment of this Act are hereby ratified. (c) Cost Recovery.—Title II of such Act is further amended by adding at the end the following new section: “SEC. 207. AUTHORITY TO BILL HEALTH-PLAN CONTRACTS. “(a) Right To Recover.—In the case of a primary beneficiary (as described in section 201(a)(2)(B)) who has coverage under a health-plan contract, as defined in section 1729(i)(1)(A) of title 38, United States Code, and who is furnished care or services by a Department medical facility pursuant to this title, the United States shall have the right to recover or collect charges for such care or services from such health-plan contract to the extent that the beneficiary (or the provider of the care or services) would be eligible to receive payment for such care or services from such health-plan contract if the care or services had not been furnished by a department or agency of the United States. Any funds received from such health-plan contract shall be credited to funds that have been allotted to the facility that furnished the care or services. 110 STAT. 3194 “(b) Enforcement.—The right of the United States to recover under such a beneficiary’s health-plan contract shall be enforceable in the same manner as that provided by subsections (a)(3), (b), (c)(1), (d), (f), (h), and (i) of section 1729 of title 38, United States Code”.