[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1644 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1644

   To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide eligibility for 
TRICARE Select to veterans with service-connected disabilities, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 17, 2023

  Mr. Kennedy introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide eligibility for 
TRICARE Select to veterans with service-connected disabilities, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans' True Choice Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. ELIGIBILITY UNDER TRICARE PROGRAM FOR VETERANS WITH SERVICE-
              CONNECTED DISABILITIES.

    (a) In General.--
            (1) Enrollment in tricare select.--Section 1075 of title 
        10, United States Code, is amended--
                    (A) in subsection (b)(1)(B), by inserting before 
                the period at the end the following: ``, and covered 
                veteran beneficiaries under subsection (i), other than 
                Medicare-eligible beneficiaries described in such 
                subsection (d)(2)'';
                    (B) by redesignating subsection (i) as subsection 
                (j); and
                    (C) by inserting after subsection (h) the following 
                new subsection (i):
    ``(i) Covered Veteran Beneficiaries.--(1) Subject to section 
1086(d) of this title, a covered veteran beneficiary may elect to 
enroll in TRICARE Select during the annual open enrollment season of 
the TRICARE program.
    ``(2) The cost-sharing requirements under TRICARE Select for 
covered veteran beneficiaries shall be calculated pursuant to 
subsection (d)(1), regardless of the date of the original enlistment or 
appointment of the beneficiary in the uniformed services.
    ``(3) A dependent of a covered veteran beneficiary may not enroll 
in the TRICARE program solely by reason of the covered veteran 
beneficiary enrolling in the TRICARE program.''.
            (2) Enrollment in tricare for life.--Section 1086(d) of 
        such title is amended--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting before the 
                period at the end the following: ``or pursuant to 
                section 1075(i) of this title'';
                    (B) in paragraph (2), in the matter preceding 
                clause (i), by inserting ``, or section 1075(i) of this 
                title,'' after ``a person referred to in subsection 
                (c)''; and
                    (C) in paragraph (4), in the matter preceding 
                clause (i), by inserting ``, or section 1075(i) of this 
                title,'' after ``a person referred to in subsection 
                (c)''.
            (3) Definition.--Section 1072 of such title is amended by 
        adding at the end the following new paragraph:
            ``(16) The term `covered veteran beneficiary' means a 
        veteran who--
                    ``(A) is eligible to enroll in the system of annual 
                patient enrollment of the Department of Veterans 
                Affairs under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of section 
                1705 of title 38; and
                    ``(B) is eligible to enroll in the TRICARE program 
                only pursuant to--
                            ``(i) section 1075(i) of this title; or
                            ``(ii) section 1086(d) of this title by 
                        reason of being an individual who would be 
                        covered by such section 1075(i) but for being a 
                        Medicare-eligible beneficiary covered by such 
                        section 1086(d).''.
            (4) Enrollment in va health care.--Section 1705 of title 
        38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
        following new subsection:
    ``(d)(1) A covered veteran beneficiary who enrolls in the TRICARE 
program may not be concurrently enrolled in the system of annual 
patient enrollment under subsection (a) and the Secretary may not 
furnish hospital care or medical services to the covered veteran 
beneficiary under this chapter or any other provision of law 
administered by the Secretary while the covered veteran beneficiary is 
enrolled in the TRICARE program.
    ``(2) In this subsection, the terms `covered veteran beneficiary' 
and `TRICARE program' have the meanings given those terms in section 
1072 of title 10.''.
    (b) Memorandum of Understanding.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
and the Secretary of Defense shall enter into a memorandum of 
understanding under which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs reimburses 
the Secretary of Defense for the costs of enrolling covered veteran 
beneficiaries in the TRICARE program pursuant to the amendments made by 
subsection (a), as jointly determined appropriate by the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Defense.
    (c) Implementation.--
            (1) Effective date.--The amendments made by this section 
        shall take effect one year after the date of the enactment of 
        this Act.
            (2) Regulations.--During the one-year period following the 
        date on which the amendments made by this section take effect, 
        the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of Defense 
        shall each prescribe regulations to carry out such amendments.
            (3) Phase in.--During the one-year period following the 
        date on which the regulations are prescribed under paragraph 
        (2), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Secretary of 
        Defense shall phase in the enrollment of covered veteran 
        beneficiaries in accordance with the annual open enrollment 
        season of the TRICARE program.
            (4) VA center for innovation for care and payment.--The 
        Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall carry out this subsection 
        through the Center for Innovation for Care and Payment of the 
        Department of Veterans Affairs under section 1703E of title 38, 
        United States Code.
    (d) Reports.--
            (1) Reports on implementation.--Not less frequently than 
        quarterly during the two-year period following the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and 
        the Secretary of Defense shall jointly submit to the 
        appropriate committees of Congress a report on the 
        implementation of this section and the amendments made by this 
        section.
            (2) Annual reports.--Not later than one year after the date 
        on which the final report under paragraph (1) is required to be 
        submitted, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of Veterans 
        Affairs and the Secretary of Defense shall jointly submit to 
        the appropriate committees of Congress a report on covered 
        veteran beneficiaries enrolled in the TRICARE program.
    (e) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
        ``appropriate committees of Congress'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the 
                Committee on Armed Services of the Senate; and
                    (B) the Committee on Veterans' Affairs and the 
                Committee on Armed Services of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) Covered veteran beneficiary; tricare program.--The 
        terms ``covered veteran beneficiary'' and ``TRICARE program'' 
        have the meaning given those terms in section 1072 of title 10, 
        United States Code, as amended by subsection (a).
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