,,ii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #cehj  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,march #be1    
#bjbj,ms4 ,cortez ,masto introduced the 
following bill2 which was read twice and
 referred to the ,committee on ,armed   
,services  ,a ,,bill  ,to require the   
,comptroller ,general of the ,united    
,states to submit to ,congress a report 
assessing the billing practices of the  
,department of ,defense for care        
received under the ,,tricare program and
 at military medical treatment          
facilities1 and for other purposes4  #a4
 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as
 the ,department of ,defense ,healthcare
 ,billing ,report ,act4  #b4 ,findings2 
sense of ,congress  7a7 ,findings       
,congress finds the following3 7#a7     
,through the ,,tricare program 7as      
defined in section #ajgb of title #aj1  
,united ,states ,code71 the ,department 
of ,defense provides health care        
benefits and services to approximately  
#i1ejj1jjj beneficiaries4  7#b7 ,the    

,department of ,defense is not          
structured as a typical health care     
provider1 which can lead to complicated 
billing practices and strict deadlines  
for members of the ,armed ,forces1      
former members of the ,armed ,forces1   
and their dependents1 as well as for    
providers4  7#c7 ,numerous findings     
issued by the ,inspector ,general of the
 ,department of ,defense between #bjad  
and #bjai describe the third-party      
collection program of the ,department as
 inadequately managed1 resulting in     
substantial uncollected funds that could
 be used to improve the quality of      
health care at military medical         
treatment facilities4  7#d7 ,numerous   
press reports have found that the       
,federal ,government aggressively       
collects unpaid debts from uninsured or 
low-income civilian patients who happen 
to receive treatment at a military      
medical treatment facility1 even though 
providing that treatment often benefits 
military readiness by providing         

experience to military medical          
professionals4  7b7 ,sense of ,congress 
,it is the sense of ,congress that it is
 in the national interest of the ,united
 ,states to ensure members of the ,armed
 ,forces1 former members of the ,armed  
,forces1 and their dependents receive   
high-quality health care1 and that      
,federal agencies prioritize fairness   
and accessibility when administering    
health care4  #c4 ,report on billing    
practices for health care from          
,department of ,defense  7a7 ,report    
,not later than one year after the date 
of the enactment of this ,act1 the      
,comptroller ,general of the ,united    
,states shall submit to ,congress a     
report assessing the billing practices  
of the ,department of ,defense for care 
received under the ,,tricare program or 
at military medical treatment           
facilities4  7b7 ,elements ,the report  
required by paragraph 7#a7 shall include
 the following3 7#a7 ,a description of  
the extent to which data is being       

collected and maintained on whether     
beneficiaries under the ,,tricare       
program have other forms of health      
insurance4  7#b7 ,a description of the  
extent to which the ,secretary of       
,defense has implemented the            
recommendations of the ,inspector       
,general of the ,department of ,defense 
to improve collections of third-party   
payments for care at military medical   
treatment facilities and a description  
of the impact such implementation has   
had on beneficiaries4  7#c7 ,a          
description of the extent to which the  
process used by managed care support    
contractors under the ,,tricare program 
to adjudicate third-party liability     
claims is efficient and effective1      
including with respect to communication 
with beneficiaries4  7c7 ,,tricare      
program defined ,in this section1 the   
term ,,tricare program has the meaning  
given that term in section #ajgb of     
title #aj1 ,united ,states ,code4