§ 1095b. TRICARE program: contractor payment of certain claims

• (a)
  • (1) The Secretary of Defense may authorize a contractor under the TRICARE program to pay a claim described in paragraph (2) before seeking to recover from a third-party payer the costs incurred by the contractor to provide health care services that are the basis of the claim to a beneficiary under such program.
  • (2) A claim under this paragraph is a claim—
    • (A) that is submitted to the contractor by a provider under the TRICARE program for payment for services for health care provided to a covered beneficiary; and
    • (B) that is identified by the contractor as a claim for which a third-party payer may be liable.
• (b) The United States shall have the same right to collect charges related to claims described in subsection (a) as charges for claims under section 1095 of this title .
• (c) In this section, the term “third-party payer” has the meaning given that term in section 1095(h) of this title , except that such term excludes primary medical insurers.