PUBLIC LAW 104-262—OCT. 9, 1996 110 STAT. 3183 "(1) Veterans with service-connected disabilities rated 50 percent or greater. "(2) Veterans with service-connected disabilities rated 30 percent or 40 percent. "(3) Veterans who are former prisoners of war, veterans with service-connected disabilities rated 10 percent or 20 percent, and vetersms described in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 1710(a)(2) of this title. "(4) Veterans who are in receipt of increased pension based on a need of regular aid and attendance or by reason of being permanently housebound and other veterans who are catastrophically disabled. "(5) Veterans not covered by paragraphs (1) through (4) who are unable to defray the expenses of necessary care as determined under section 1722(a) of this title. "(6) All other veterans eligible for hospital care, medical services, and nursing home care under section 1710(a)(2) of this title. "(7) Veterans described in section 1710(a)(3) of this title. "(b) In the design of an enrollment system under subsection (a), the Secretary— "(1) shall ensure that the system will be managed in a manner to ensure that the provision of care to enrollees is timely and acceptable in quality; "(2) may establish additional priorities within each priority group specified in subsection (a), as the Secretary determines necessary; and "(3) may provide for exceptions to the specified priorities where dictated by compelling medical reasons. "(c)(1) Effective on October 1, 1998, the Secretary may not provide hospital care or medical services to a veteran under paragraph (2) or (3) of section 1710(a) of this title unless the veteran enrolls in the system of patient enrollment established by the Secretary under subsection (a). "(2) The Secretary shall provide hospital care and medical services under section 1710(a)(1) of this title, and under subparagraph (B) of section 1710(a)(2) of this title, for the 12-month period following such veteran's discharge or release from service, to any veteran referred to in such sections for a disability specified in the applicable subparagraph of such section, notwithstanding the failure of the veteran to enroll in the system of patient enrollment referred to in subsection (a) of this section. "§ 1706. Management of health care: other requirements "(a) In managing the provision of hospital care and medical services under section 1710(a) of this title, the Secretary shall, to the extent feasible, design, establish and manage health care programs in such a manner as to promote cost-effective delivery of health care services in the most clinically appropriate setting. "(b)(1) In managing the provision of hospital care and medical services under such section, the Secretary shall ensure that the Department maintains its capacity to provide for the specialized treatment and rehabilitative needs of disabled veterans (including veterans with spinal cord dysfunction, blindness, amputations, and mental illness) within distinct programs or facilities of the Department that are dedicated to the specialized needs of those veterans in a manner that (A) Eiffords those veterans reasonable access
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