TECHNICAL AND CLARIFYING AMENDMENTS TO NEW TRAUMATIC INJURY PROTECTION COVERAGE UNDER SERVICEMEMBERS’ GROUP LIFE INSURANCE.

SEC. 501. TECHNICAL AND CLARIFYING AMENDMENTS TO NEW TRAUMATIC INJURY PROTECTION COVERAGE UNDER SERVICEMEMBERS’ GROUP LIFE INSURANCE.(a) Section 1980A.—Section 1980A of title 38, United States Code, is amended as follows:(1) Subsection (a) is amended to read as follows:“(a)(1) A member of the uniformed services who is insured under Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance shall automatically be insured for traumatic injury in accordance with this section. Insurance benefits under this section shall be payable if the member, while so insured, sustains a traumatic injury on or after December 1, 2005, that results in a qualifying loss specified pursuant to subsection (b)(1).“(2) If a member suffers more than one such qualifying loss as a result of traumatic injury from the same traumatic event, payment shall be made under this section in accordance with the 120 STAT. 412 schedule prescribed pursuant to subsection (d) for the single loss providing the highest payment.”.(2) Subsection (b) is amended—(A) in paragraph (1)—(i) by striking “issued a” and all that follows through “limited to—” and inserting “insured against traumatic injury under this section is insured against such losses due to traumatic injury (in this section referred to as ‘qualifying losses’) as are prescribed by the Secretary by regulation. Qualifying losses so prescribed shall include the following:”;(ii) by capitalizing the first letter of the first word of each of subparagraphs (A) through (H);(iii) by striking the semicolon at the end of each of subparagraphs (A) through (F) and inserting a period; and(iv) by striking “; and” at the end of subparagraph (G) and inserting a period;(B) in paragraph (2)—(i) by striking “subsection—” and inserting “subsection:”;(ii) by striking “the” at the beginning of subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) and inserting “The”;(iii) in subparagraph (A), by striking “4 limbs;” and inserting “four limbs.”;(iv) in subparagraph (B), by striking “; and” at the end and inserting a period;(v) in subparagraph (C), by striking “1 side” and inserting “one side”; and(vi) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:“(D) The term ‘inability to carry out the activities of daily living’ means the inability to independently perform two or more of the following six functions:“(i) Bathing.“(ii) Continence.“(iii) Dressing.“(iv) Eating.“(v) Toileting.“(vi) Transferring.”;(C) in paragraph (3)—(i) by striking “, in collaboration with the Secretary of Defense,”;(ii) by striking “shall prescribe” and inserting “may prescribe”; and(iii) by striking “the conditions under which coverage against loss will not be provided” and inserting “conditions under which coverage otherwise provided under this section is excluded”; and(D) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:“(4) A member shall not be considered for the purposes of this section to be a member insured under Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance if the member is insured under Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance only as an insurable dependent of another member pursuant to subparagraph (A)(ii) or (C)(ii) of section 1967(a)(1) of this title.”.(3) Subsection (c) is amended to read as follows:120 STAT. 413 “(c)(1) A payment may be made to a member under this section only for a qualifying loss that results directly from a traumatic injury sustained while the member is covered against loss under this section and from no other cause.“(2)(A) A payment may be made to a member under this section for a qualifying loss resulting from a traumatic injury only for a loss that is incurred during the applicable period of time specified pursuant to subparagraph (B).“(B) For each qualifying loss, the Secretary shall prescribe, by regulation, a period of time to be the period of time within which a loss of that type must be incurred, determined from the date on which the member sustains the traumatic injury resulting in that loss, in order for that loss to be covered under this section.”.(4) Subsection (d) is amended by striking “losses described in subsection (b)(1) shall be—” and all that follows and inserting “qualifying losses shall be made in accordance with a schedule prescribed by the Secretary, by regulation, specifying the amount of payment to be made for each type of qualifying loss, to be based on the severity of the qualifying loss. The minimum payment that may be prescribed for a qualifying loss is $25,000, and the maximum payment that may be prescribed for a qualifying loss is $100,000.”.(5) Subsection (e) is amended—(A) by striking “of Veterans Affairs” each place it appears;(B) in paragraph (1), by striking “as the premium allocable” and all that follows through “protection under this section”;(C) in paragraph (2), by striking “Secretary of the concerned service” and inserting “Secretary concerned”; and(D) by striking paragraphs (6), (7), and (8) and inserting the following:“(6) The cost attributable to insuring members under this section for any month or other period specified by the Secretary, less the premiums paid by the members, shall be paid by the Secretary concerned to the Secretary. The Secretary shall allocate the amount payable among the uniformed services using such methods and data as the Secretary determines to be reasonable and practicable. Payments under this paragraph shall be made on a monthly basis or at such other intervals as may be specified by the Secretary and shall be made within 10 days of the date on which the Secretary provides notice to the Secretary concerned of the amount required.“(7) For each period for which a payment by a Secretary concerned is required under paragraph (6), the Secretary concerned shall contribute such amount from appropriations available for active duty pay of the uniformed service concerned.“(8) The sums withheld from the basic or other pay of members, or collected from them by the Secretary concerned, under this subsection, and the sums contributed from appropriations under this subsection, together with the income derived from any dividends or premium rate adjustments received from insurers shall be deposited to the credit of the revolving fund established in the Treasury of the United States under section 1869(d)(1) of this title.”.(6) Subsection (f) is amended to read as follows:120 STAT. 414 “(f) When a claim for benefits is submitted under this section, the Secretary of Defense or, in the case of a member not under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary concerned, shall certify to the Secretary whether the member with respect to whom the claim is submitted—“(1) was at the time of the injury giving rise to the claim insured under Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance for the purposes of this section; and“(2) has sustained a qualifying loss.”.(7) Subsection (g) of such section is amended—(A) by inserting “(1)” after “(g)”;(B) by striking “will not be made” and inserting “may not be made under the insurance coverage under this section”;(C) by striking “the period” and all that follows through “the date” and inserting “a period prescribed by the Secretary, by regulation, for such purpose that begins on the date”;(D) by designating the second sentence as paragraph (2);(E) by striking “If the member” and inserting “If a member eligible for a payment under this section”;(F) by striking “will be” and inserting “shall be”; and(G) by striking “according to” and all that follows and inserting “to the beneficiary or beneficiaries to whom the payment would be made if the payment were life insurance under section 1967(a) of this title.”.(8) Subsection (h) of such section is amended—(A) in the first sentence, by striking “member’s separation from the uniformed service” and inserting “termination of the member’s duty status in the uniformed services that established eligibility for Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance”;(B) by striking the second sentence; and(C) by adding at the end the following new sentence: “The termination of coverage under this section is effective in accordance with the preceding sentence, notwithstanding any continuation after the date specified in that sentence of Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance coverage pursuant to 1968(a) of this title for a period specified in that section.”.(9) Such section is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:“(j) Regulations under this section shall be prescribed in consultation with the Secretary of Defense.”.(b) Applicability to Qualifying Losses Incurred in Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom Before Effective Date of New Program.—(1) Eligibility.—A member of the uniformed services who during the period beginning on October 7, 2001, and ending at the close of November 30, 2005, sustains a traumatic injury resulting in a qualifying loss is eligible for coverage for that loss under section 1980A of title 38, United States Code, if, as determined by the Secretary concerned, that loss was a direct result of a traumatic injury incurred in the theater of operations for Operation Enduring Freedom or Operation Iraqi Freedom.120 STAT. 415(2) Certification of persons entitled to payment.—The Secretary concerned shall certify to the life insurance company issuing the policy of life insurance for Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance under chapter 19 of title 38, United States Code, the name and address of each person who the Secretary concerned determines to be entitled by reason of paragraph (1) to a payment under section 1980A of title 38, United States Code, plus such additional information as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may require.(3) Funding.—At the time a certification is made under paragraph (2), the Secretary concerned, from funds then available to that Secretary for the pay of members of the uniformed services under the jurisdiction of that Secretary, shall pay to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs the amount of funds the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines to be necessary to pay all costs related to payments to be made under that certification. Amounts received by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under this paragraph shall be deposited to the credit of the revolving fund in the Treasury of the United States established under section 1969(d) of title 38, United States Code.(4) Qualifying loss.—For purposes of this subsection, the term “qualifying loss” means—(A) a loss specified in the second sentence of subsection (b)(1) of section 1980A of title 38, United States Code, as amended by subsection (a); and(B) any other loss specified by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs pursuant to the first sentence of that subsection.(5) Secretary concerned.—For purposes of this subsection, the term “Secretary concerned” has the meaning given that term in paragraph (25) of section 101 of title 38, United States Code.(c) Conforming Amendments.—(1) Section 1965 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by striking paragraph (11).(2) Section 1032(c) of Public Law 109–13 (119 Stat. 257; 38 U.S.C. 1980A note) is repealed.