S.Amdt. 2209

SA 2209. Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself, Mr. Schatz, Mr. Pryor, and Mr. Casey) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by her to the bill S. 1197, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2014 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

On page 226, between lines 14 and 15, insert the following:

Subtitle A--TRICARE Program SEC. 701. FUTURE AVAILABILITY OF TRICARE PRIME FOR CERTAIN BENEFICIARIES ENROLLED IN TRICARE PRIME.

Section 732 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 (Public Law 112-239; 126 Stat. 1816) is amended--

(1) by redesignating subsection (b) as subsection (c); and

(2) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new subsection (b):

“(b) Access to TRICARE Prime.--

“(1) One-time election.--Subject to paragraph (3), the Secretary shall ensure that each affected eligible beneficiary who is enrolled in TRICARE Prime as of September 30, 2013, may make a one-time election to continue such enrollment in TRICARE Prime, notwithstanding that a contract described in subsection (a)(2)(A) does not allow for such enrollment based on the location in which such beneficiary resides. The beneficiary may continue such enrollment in TRICARE Prime so long as the beneficiary resides in the same ZIP code as the ZIP Code in which the beneficiary resided at the time of such election.

“(2) Enrollment in tricare standard.--If an affected eligible beneficiary makes the one-time election under paragraph (1), the beneficiary may thereafter elect to enroll in TRICARE Standard at any time in accordance with a contract described in subsection (a)(2)(A).

“(3) Residence at time of election.--An affected eligible beneficiary may not make the one-time election under paragraph (1) if, at the time of such election, the beneficiary does not reside in a ZIP code that is in a region described in subsection (c)(1)(B).”.