37 U.S.C. § 438 — Preventive health services allowance

(a) Demonstration Project. From January 1, 2009, through December 31, 2011, the Secretary of Defense had to run a test program called the "preventive health services allowance." The goal was to see whether paying members this allowance would get them and their dependents to use more preventive health care. (b) Eligible Members. A service member could get the allowance if they were on active duty for more than 30 days and met their branch's medical and dental readiness standards, subject to the caps below. No more than 1,500 members of each of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps could receive the allowance in any year. Within each branch's 1,500 slots, half had to go to members without dependents and half to members with dependents. (c) Amount of Allowance. The Secretary of the member's military department had to pay $500 per year to a selected member with no dependents, and $1,000 per year to a selected member with dependents. (d) Authorized Preventive Health Services. The Secretary of Defense had to decide which specific preventive services the allowance could pay for, and how often. At minimum, the covered services — chosen based on the member's and dependents' age and gender — had to include: colorectal screening, breast screening, cervical screening, prostate screening, an annual physical exam, an annual dental exam, weight and body-mass screening, and vaccinations. The Secretary also had to make sure members and dependents had a real chance to get these services near where they live. (e) Data Collection. The Secretary of Defense had to track and record the health of participating members and dependents, along with their test results, and judge how medically useful the required testing was. (f) Reporting Requirement. By March 31, 2010, and again by March 31, 2012, the Secretary of Defense had to send Congress a report on the project — including the medical status of participants, suggested changes to the program, and recommendations on whether to continue it. (g) Regulations. The Secretary of Defense had to write regulations to carry out this section.