10 U.S.C. § 1086a — Certain former spouses: extension of period of eligibility for health benefits

(a) The Secretary of Defense must tell each person who has been a dependent for at least one year under section 1072(2)(H) that the person may buy a conversion health policy. The policy must provide coverage for at least 24 months. (b) (1) Subject to paragraph (2), a person who was a dependent for one year and buys the policy during that year, or within a reasonable time set by the Secretary, remains eligible for medical and dental care under section 1076 and health benefits under section 1086 until the end of the 24-month period beginning on the later of the date dependency ends or the purchase date. (2) The extension applies only to a condition that existed when policy coverage began and for which the policy provides no care solely because it is preexisting. (c) (1) If the Secretary cannot reasonably soon contract with a private insurer for a policy costing no more than the comparable-coverage payment under section 8905a(d)(1)(A) of title 5, the Secretary must provide the coverage through the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services. The person must pay into the Military Health Care Account or another appropriate account the individual and Government contributions required for a section 1079 plan participant, plus administrative costs of no more than 2 percent of those contributions. (2) The person’s payment may not exceed the cited comparable-coverage payment. (3) To lower premiums, the Secretary may offer less mental-health coverage and greater purchaser cost-sharing. (d) “Conversion health policy” means a private-insurer health policy negotiated by the Secretary and the insurer for purchase by or use of a person who was a dependent for one year under section 1072(2)(H).