REVIEWS RELATING TO ACCESSIBILITY OF HEALTH CARE UNDER TRICARE.

SEC. 715. REVIEWS RELATING TO ACCESSIBILITY OF HEALTH CARE UNDER TRICARE. (a) Review of Rehabilitative Services for Head Injuries.— The Secretary of Defense shall review policies under the TRICARE program (including a review of the TRICARE policy manual) to determine if policies addressing the availability of rehabilitative services for TRICARE patients suffering from head injuries are adequate and appropriately address consideration of certification by an attending physician that such services would be beneficial for such a patient. (b) Review of Adequacy of Provider Network.— The Secretary of Defense shall review the administration of the TRICARE Prime health plans to determine whether, for each region covered by such a plan, there is a sufficient number, distribution, and variety of qualified participating health care providers to ensure that covered health care services, including specialty services and rehabilitative services, are accessible in the vicinity of the residence of the enrollees and available in a timely manner to such enrollees, regardless of where such enrollees are located within the TRICARE region. (c) Report.— Not later than April 1, 1999, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on National Security of the House of Representatives a report on the results of the reviews required by subsections (a) and (b), together with a description of any actions taken or directed as a result of those reviews.112 STAT. 2061