Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 113 Part 1.djvu/712

 113 STAT. 688 PUBLIC LAW 106-65—OCT. 5, 1999 of law, with respect to obstetrics and gjniecological care for beneficiaries not enrolled in a managed care plan offered pursuant to any contract or agreement under this chapter, a nonavailability- of-health-care statement shall be required for receipt of health care services related to outpatient prenatal, outpatient or inpatient delivery, and outpatient post-partum care subsequent to the visit which confirms the pregnancy.". SEC. 713. IMPROVEMENTS TO CLAIMS PROCESSING UNDER THE TRICARE PROGRAM. (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Chapter 55 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 1095b the following new section: "§ 1095c. TRICARE program: facilitation of processing of claims "(a) REDUCTION OF PROCESSING TIME. — (1) With respect to claims for payment for medical care provided under the TRICARE program, the Secretary of Defense shall implement a system for processing of claims under which— "(A) 95 percent of all clean claims must be processed not later than 30 days after the date that such claims are submitted to the claims processor; and "(B) 100 percent of all clean claims must be processed not later than 100 days after the date that such claims are submitted to the claims processor. "(2) The Secretary may, under the system required by paragraph (1) and consistent with the provisions in chapter 39 of title 31 (commonly referred to as the 'Prompt Pa5niient Act'), require that interest be paid on clean claims that are not processed within 30 days. "(3) For purposes of this subsection, the term 'clean claim' means a claim that has no defect, impropriety (including a lack of any required substantiating documentation), or particular circumstance requiring special treatment that prevents timely pay- ment on the claim under this section. "(b) REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE START-UP TIME FOR CERTAIN CONTRACTORS. —(1) The Secretary of Defense shall not require that a contractor described in paragraph (2) begin to provide managed care support pursuant to a contract to provide such support under the TRICARE program until at least nine months after the date of the award of the contract. In such case the contractor may begin to provide managed care support pursuant to the contract as soon as practicable after the award of the contract, but in no case later than one year after the date of such award. "(2) A contractor under this paragraph is a contractor who is awarded a contract to provide managed care support under the TRICARE program— "(A) who has not previously been awarded such a contract by the Department of Defense; or "(B) who has previously been awarded such a contract by the Department of Defense but for whom the subcontractors have not previously been awarded the subcontracts for such a contract. "(c) INCENTIVES.FOR ELECTRONIC PROCESSING.— The Secretary of Defense shall require that new contracts for managed care support under the TRICARE program provide that the contractor be

�