ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS TO RECEIVE REIMBURSEMENT UNDER CHAMPUS

SEC. 646. ELIGIBILITY OF CERTAIN INSTITUTIONS TO RECEIVE REIMBURSEMENT UNDER CHAMPUS (a) Active-Duty Dependents.—(1) Section 1079(b) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end of paragraph (1) the following: “The Secretary of Defense may exempt a patient from paying such amount if the hospital to which the patient is admitted does not impose a legal obligation on any of its patients to pay for inpatient care.”. (2) Section 1079 of such title is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(m)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of Defense may, upon request, make payments under this section for a charge for services for which a claim is submitted under a plan contracted for under subsection (a) to a hospital that does not impose a legal obligation on any of its patients to pay for such services. “(2) A payment under paragraph (1) may not exceed the average amount paid for comparable services in the geographic area in which the hospital is located or, if no comparable services are available in that area, in an area similar to the area in which the hospital is located. “(3) The Secretary of Defense shall periodically review the billing practices of each hospital the Secretary approves for payment under this subsection to ensure that the hospital’s practices of not billing patients for payment are not resulting in increased costs to the Government. “(4) The Secretary of Defense may require each hospital the Secretary approves for payment under this subsection to provide evidence that it has sources of revenue to cover unbilled costs.”. (b) Retirees and Their Dependents.—(1) Section 1086(b) of title 10, United States Code, is amended in paragraph (3) by adding at the end the following: “The Secretary of Defense may exempt a patient from paying such charges if the hospital to which the patient is admitted does not impose a legal obligation on any of its patients to pay for inpatient care.”. (2) Section 1086 of such title is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(h)(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary of Defense may, upon request, make payments under this section for a charge for services for which a claim is submitted under a plan contracted for under subsection (a) to a hospital that does not impose a legal obligation on any of its patients to pay for such services. “(2) A payment under paragraph (1) may not exceed the average amount paid for comparable services in the geographic area in which the hospital is located or, if no comparable services are available in that area, in an area similar to the area in which the hospital is located. 102 STAT. 1990 “(3) The Secretary of Defense shall periodically review the billing practices of each hospital the Secretary approves for payment under this subsection to ensure that the hospital’s practices of not billing patients for payment are not resulting in increased costs to the Government. “(4) The Secretary of Defense may require each hospital the Secretary approves for payment under this subsection to provide evidence that it has sources of revenue to cover unbilled costs.”. (c) Effective Date.—The amendments made by subsections (a) and (b) shall apply with respect to medical care received after September 30, 1988.