U.S. CODE

U.S. Code

§ 1076d. TRICARE program: TRICARE Standard coverage for members of the Selected Reserve

(a) Eligibility.—

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), a member of the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve of a reserve component of the armed forces is eligible for health benefits under TRICARE Standard as provided in this section.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to a member who is enrolled, or is eligible to enroll, in a health benefits plan under chapter 89 of title 5.

(b) Termination of Eligibility Upon Termination of Service.— Eligibility for TRICARE Standard coverage of a member under this section shall terminate upon the termination of the member’s service in the Selected Reserve.

(c) Family Members.— While a member of a reserve component is covered by TRICARE Standard under the section, the members of the immediate family of such member are eligible for TRICARE Standard coverage as dependents of the member. If a member of a reserve component dies while in a period of coverage under this section, the eligibility of the members of the immediate family of such member for TRICARE Standard coverage shall continue for six months beyond the date of death of the member.

(d) Premiums.—

(1) A member of a reserve component covered by TRICARE Standard under this section shall pay a premium for that coverage.

(2) The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe for the purposes of this section one premium for TRICARE Standard coverage of members without dependents and one premium for TRICARE Standard coverage of members with dependents referred to in subsection (f)(1). The premium prescribed for a coverage shall apply uniformly to all covered members of the reserve components.

(3)

(A) The monthly amount of the premium in effect for a month for TRICARE Standard coverage under this section shall be the amount equal to 28 percent of the total monthly amount determined on an appropriate actuarial basis as being reasonable for that coverage.

(B) The appropriate actuarial basis for purposes of subparagraph (A) shall be determined, for each calendar year after calendar year 2009, by utilizing the actual cost of providing benefits under this section to members and their dependents during the calendar years preceding such calendar year.

(4) The premiums payable by a member of a reserve component under this subsection may be deducted and withheld from basic pay payable to the member under section 204 of title 37 or from compensation payable to the member under section 206 of such title. The Secretary shall prescribe the requirements and procedures applicable to the payment of premiums.

(5) Amounts collected as premiums under this subsection shall be credited to the appropriation available for the Defense Health Program Account under section 1100 of this title, shall be merged with sums in such Account that are available for the fiscal year in which collected, and shall be available under subsection (b) of such section for such fiscal year.

(e) Regulations.— The Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the other administering Secretaries, shall prescribe regulations for the administration of this section.

(f) Definitions.— In this section:

(1) The term “immediate family”, with respect to a member of a reserve component, means all of the member’s dependents described in subparagraphs (A), (D), and (I) of section 1072 (2) of this title.

(2) The term “TRICARE Standard” means—

(A) medical care to which a dependent described in section 1076 (a)(2) of this title is entitled; and

(B) health benefits contracted for under the authority of section 1079 (a) of this title and subject to the same rates and conditions as apply to persons covered under that section.

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