10 U.S.C. § 1092 — Studies and demonstration projects relating to delivery of health and medical care

(a)(1) The Secretary of Defense, consulting the other administering Secretaries, must conduct studies and demonstration projects about the uniformed services’ health-care delivery system. The goal is to improve the quality, efficiency, convenience, and cost-effectiveness of health-care services, including dental care, provided under this title to members, former members, and dependents. The studies and projects may include (A) different ways to pay for health and medical care; (B) cost-sharing by eligible beneficiaries; (C) ways to encourage efficient and economical delivery; (D) innovative ways to deliver and finance care; (E) different ways to reimburse health plans for administrative charges; and (F) prepayment for medical care that maintains the health of a defined population. (2) The Secretary must include studies of alternative dental-care programs for spouses and dependents of active-duty uniformed-service members, including a program providing dental care through insurance or dental-plan contracts. A demonstration project under this section may not provide dental care through such a contract. (3) The Secretary may include studies and projects offering awards and incentives, under terms and schedules set by the Secretary, to armed-forces members and covered beneficiaries who obtain health-promotion and disease-prevention care through TRICARE. Awards and incentives may include cash and, for armed-forces members, personnel incentives. (4)(A) Consulting the other administering Secretaries, the Secretary may include studies and projects offering awards or incentives to individual health-care professionals under those Secretaries’ authority, including uniformed-service members, Federal civilian employees, and contractor personnel. The purpose is to encourage and reward effective implementation of innovative health-care programs that improve quality, cost-effectiveness, health promotion, medical readiness, and other priority goals. Awards and incentives may include cash and, for armed-forces members and Federal civilian employees, personnel incentives. (B) Money available to pay uniformed-service members may be used for awards and incentives for those members under this paragraph. (5) The Secretary may include studies and projects to improve the medical and dental readiness of reserve-component members, including providing care for which they are not otherwise entitled or eligible under this chapter. (6) The Secretary may include studies and projects to improve continued health-care services for eligible family members of mobilized reserve-component members, including paying a stipend to continue employer-provided health coverage during extended active duty. (b) If appropriations are available for the purpose, the Secretary may enter into contracts or other transactions, other than contracts, cooperative agreements, and grants, with public or private agencies, institutions, and organizations to conduct subsection (a) studies and projects. (c) The Secretary may obtain advice and recommendations from advisory committees the Secretary considers appropriate. Each committee consulted must evaluate the proposed study or project’s sound objectives, likelihood of productive results, resources required, and relationship to other ongoing or completed studies and projects.