10 U.S.C. § 1095b

TRICARE program: contractor payment of certain claims

(a) Payment of Claims.—

(1)

The Secretary of Defense may authorize a contractor under the TRICARE program to pay a claim described in paragraph (2) before seeking to recover from a third-party payer the costs incurred by the contractor to provide health care services that are the basis of the claim to a beneficiary under such program.

(2)

A claim under this paragraph is a claim—

(A)

that is submitted to the contractor by a provider under the TRICARE program for payment for services for health care provided to a covered beneficiary; and

(B)

that is identified by the contractor as a claim for which a third-party payer may be liable.

(b) Recovery From Third-Party Payers.—

The United States shall have the same right to collect charges related to claims described in subsection (a) as charges for claims under section 1095 of this title .

In this section, the term “third-party payer” has the meaning given that term in section 1095(h) of this title , except that such term excludes primary medical insurers.

(Added Pub. L. 105–261, div. A, title VII, § 711(a)(1) , Oct. 17, 1998 , 112 Stat. 2058 ; amended Pub. L. 106–65, div. A, title VII, § 716(c)(2) , Oct. 5, 1999 , 113 Stat. 692 .)