OPEN ENROLLMENT DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM.

SEC. 707. OPEN ENROLLMENT DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM. Section 724 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1997 (Public Law 104–201; 10 U.S.C. 1073 note) is amended by adding at the end the following: “(g) Open Enrollment Demonstration Program.—(1) The Secretary of Defense shall conduct a demonstration program under which covered beneficiaries shall be permitted to enroll at any time in a managed care plan offered by a designated provider consistent with the enrollment requirements for the TRICARE Prime option under the TRICARE program, but without regard to the limitation in subsection (b). The demonstration program under this subsection shall cover designated providers, selected by the Secretary of Defense, and the service areas of the designated providers. “(2) The demonstration program carried out under this section shall commence on October 1, 1999, and end on September 30, 2001. “(3) Not later than March 15, 2001, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the demonstration program carried out under this subsection. The report shall include, at a minimum, an evaluation of the benefits of the open enrollment opportunity to covered beneficiaries and a recommendation on whether to authorize open enrollments in the managed care plans of designated providers permanently.".113 STAT. 685