Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 104 Part 2.djvu/752

 104 STAT. 1388-344 PUBLIC LAW 101-508 —NOV. 5, 1990 Subtitle B—Health-Care BeneHts SEC. 8011. MEDICAL-CARE COST RECOVERY. (a) APPLICABILITY.—Section 629(a)(2) of title 38, United States Code, is amended— (1) by striking out "or" at the end of clause (C); (2) by striking out the period at the end of clause (D) and inserting in lieu thereof "; or"; and (3) by adding at the end the following new clause: "(E) for which care and services are furnished before October 1, 1993, under this chapter to a veteran who— "(i) has a service-connected disability; and "(ii) is entitled to care (or payment of the expenses of care) under a health-plan contract.". (b) MAXIMUM AMOUNT RECOVERABLE. — Clause (B) of section 629(c)(2) of such title is amended by striking out "in accordance with the prevailing rates at which the third party makes payments under comparable health-plan contracts with' and inserting in lieu thereof "if provided by". (c) ESTABLISHMENT OF MEDICAL-CARE COST RECOVERY FUND.— Section 629(g) of such title is amended to read as follows: "(g)(1) There is established in the Treasury a fund to be known as the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical-Care Cost Recovery Fund (hereafter referred to in this section as the 'Fund'). "(2) Amounts recovered or collected under this section shall be deposited in the Fund. (3) Sums in the Fund shall be available to the Secretary for the following: "(A) Pajment of necessary expenses for the identification, billing, and collection of the cost of care and services furnished under this chapter, and for the administration and collection of payments required under section 610(f) of this title for hospital care or nursing home care, under section 612(f) of this title for medical services, and under section 622A of this title for medications, including— "(i) the costs of computer hardware and software, word processing and telecommunications equipment, other equipment, supplies, and furniture; "(ii) personnel training and travel costs; "(iii) personnel and administrative costs for attorneys in the Office of General Counsel of the Department and for support personnel of such office; (iv) other personnel and administrative costs; and "(v) the costs of any contract for identification, billing, or collection services. "(B) Payment of the Secretary for reasonable charges, as determined by the Secretary, imposed for (i) services and utilities (including light, water, and heat) furnished by the Secretary, (ii) recovery and collection activities under this section, and (iii) administration of the Fund. "(4) Not later than January 1 of each year, there shall be deposited into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts an amount equal to the amount of the unobligated balance remaining in the Fund at the close of business on September 30 of the preceding year minus any part of such balance that the Secretary determines is necessary in order to enable the Secretary to defray, during the fiscal year in

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