12 2 STA T . 1 9 2 PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 1 8 1 —J A N .28 , 2008 (b)GAOREVI E W.— ( 1 )O NGO ING R EVIEW.— TheComptr o l ler Ge n er a l s hall , on an on g o i ng basis, re v ie w — (A) the pro c esses, proce du res, and anal y sis used by the D epartment o f Defense to determine the ade q uacy of the number of health care and mental health care pro - viders— (i) that currently accept TR I CAR ES tandard or TRICARE E x tra beneficiaries as patients under TRICARE Standard in each TRICARE area as of the date of completion of the review
and (ii) that would accept TRICARE Standard or TRICARE Extra beneficiaries as new patients under TRICARE Standard or TRICARE Extra, as applicable, within a reasonable time after the date of completion of the review; and ( B ) the actions ta k en by the Department of Defense to ensure ready access of TRICARE Standard beneficiaries to health care and mental health care under TRICARE Standard in each TRICARE area, including any pending or resolved requests for waiver of payment limits in order to improve access to health care or mental health care in a specific geographic area. ( 2 )RE P OR TS .—The Comptroller General shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the H ouse of Representatives on a bi-annual basis a report on the results of the review under paragraph (1). Each report shall include the following
(A) An analysis of the adequacy of the surveys under subsection (a). (B) An identification of any impediments to achieving adequacy of availability of health care and mental health care under TRICARE Standard or TRICARE Extra. (C) An assessment of the adequacy of Department of Defense education programs to inform health care and mental health care providers about TRICARE Standard and TRICARE Extra. (D) An assessment of the adequacy of Department of Defense initiatives to encourage health care and mental health care providers to accept patients under TRICARE Standard and TRICARE Extra. (E) An assessment of the adequacy of information avail- able to TRICARE Standard beneficiaries to facilitate access by such beneficiaries to health care and mental health care under TRICARE Standard and TRICARE Extra. ( F ) An assessment of any need for ad j ustment of health care and mental health care provider payment rates to attract participation in TRICARE Standard by appropriate numbers of health care and mental health care providers. (G) An assessment of the adequacy of Department of Defense programs to inform members of the Selected Reserve about the TRICARE Reserve Select program. (H) An assessment of the ability of TRICARE Reserve Select beneficiaries to receive care in their geographic area. (c) E F FE C TIVE D A TE.—This section shall take effect on October 1,2 0 0 7 .
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