PUBLIC LAW 106-117—NOV. 30, 1999 113 STAT. 1557 under paragraph (2), the Secretary of Defense shall consult with TRICARE Managed Care Support contractors. (4) The Secretary of Veterans Affairs may not enter into an agreement under paragraph (1) for the provision of care in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) with respect to any geographic service area, or a psirt of any such area, of the Veterans He^th Administration unless— (A) in the judgment of that Secretary, the Department of Veterans Affairs will recover the costs of providing such care to eligible military retirees; and (B) that Secretary has certified sind documented, with Certification, respect to any geographic service area in which the Secretary proposes to provide care in accordemce with the provisions of subsection (c), that such geographic service area, or designated part of any such area, has adequate capacity (consistent with the requirements in section 1705(b)(;i) of title 38, United States Code, that care to enrollees shall be timely and acceptable in quality) to provide such care. (5) The agreement under paragraph (1) shall be entered into Deadlines. by the Secretaries not later tliein nine months after the date of the enactment of this Act. If the Secretaries are unable to reach Reports. agreement, they shall jointly report, by thiit date or within 30 days thereafter, to the Committees on Armed Services and the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and House of Representatives on the reasons for their inability to reach an agreement and their mutually agreed plan for removing any impediments to final agreement. (b) DEPOSITING OF REIMBURSEMENTS. — i\mounts received by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs under the agreement under subsection (a) shall be deposited in the Depsirtment of Veterans Affairs Health Services Improvement Fund established under section 1729B of title 38, United States Code, as added by section 202. (c) COPAYMENT REQUIREMENT. —The pro^idsions of subsections (f)(1) and (g)(1) of section 1710 of title 38, United States Code, shall not apply in the case of an eligible military retiree who is covered by the agreement under subsection (a). (d) PHASED IMPLEMENTATION. — (1) The Secretary of Defense Contracts, shall include in each TRICARE contract entered into after the date of the enactment of this Act provisions to implement the agreement under subsection (a). (2) The provisions of the agreement under subsection (a)(2) Applicability. and the provisions of subsection (c) shall apiply to the furnishing of medical care by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs in any area of the United States only if that area is covered by a TRICARE contract that was entered into after the date of the enactment of this Act. (e) ELIGIBLE MILITARY RETIREES.— For pvirposes of this section, an eligible military retiree is a member of the Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps who— (1) has retired from active military, naval, or air service; (2) is eligible for care under the TRICARE program established by the Secretary of Defense; (3) has enrolled for care under section 1705 of title 38, United States Code; and (4) is not described in paragraph (1) or (2) of section 1710(a) of such title.
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