§ 1073d.
(a)
In General.—
To support the medical readiness of the armed forces and the readiness of medical personnel, the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with the Secretaries of the military departments, shall maintain the military medical treatment facilities described in subsections (b), (c), and (d).
(d)
Ambulatory Care Centers.—
(1)
The Secretary of Defense shall maintain ambulatory care centers in areas where civilian health care facilities are able to support the health care needs of members of the armed forces and covered beneficiaries.
(2)
Ambulatory care centers shall provide the outpatient health services required to maintain medical readiness, including with respect to partnerships established pursuant to section 706 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017.
(3)
Ambulatory care centers shall consist of outpatient care facilities with limited specialty care that the Secretary determines—
(A)
is cost effective; or
(B)
is not available at civilian health care facilities in the area of the ambulatory care center.
(e)
Maintenance of Inpatient Capabilities at Military Medical Treatment Facilities Located Outside the United States.—
(1)
In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense shall ensure that each covered facility maintains, at a minimum, inpatient capabilities that the Secretary determines are similar to the inpatient capabilities of such facility on September 30, 2016.
(2)
The Secretary may not eliminate the inpatient capabilities of a covered facility until the day that is 180 days after the Secretary provides a briefing to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives regarding the proposed elimination. During any such briefing, the Secretary shall certify the following:
(A)
The Secretary has entered into agreements with hospitals or medical centers in the host nation of such covered facility that—
(i)
replace the inpatient capabilities the Secretary proposes to eliminate; and
(ii)
ensure members of the armed forces and covered beneficiaries who receive health care from such covered facility, have, within a distance the Secretary determines is reasonable, access to quality health care, including case management and translation services.
(B)
The Secretary has consulted with the commander of the geographic combatant command in which such covered facility is located to ensure that the proposed elimination would have no impact on the operational plan for such geographic combatant command.
(C)
Before the Secretary eliminates the inpatient capabilities of such covered facility, the Secretary shall provide each member of the armed forces or covered beneficiary who receives health care from the covered facility with—
(i)
a transition plan for continuity of health care for such member or covered beneficiary; and
(ii)
a public forum to discuss the concerns of the member or covered beneficiary regarding the proposed reduction.
(3)
In this subsection, the term “covered facility” means a military medical treatment facility located outside the United States.
(f)
Notification Required to Modify Scope of Services Provided at Military Medical Treatment Facilities.—
(1)
The Secretary of Defense may not modify the scope of medical care provided at a military medical treatment facility, or the beneficiary population served at the facility, unless—
(A)
the Secretary submits to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate a notification of the proposed modification in scope;
(B)
a period of 180 days has elapsed following the date on which the Secretary submits such notification; and
(C)
if the proposed modification in scope involves the termination or reduction of inpatient capabilities at a military medical treatment facility located outside the United States, the Secretary has provided to each member of the armed forces or covered beneficiary receiving services at such facility a transition plan for the continuity of health care for such member or covered beneficiary.
(2)
Each notification under paragraph (1) shall contain information demonstrating, with respect to the military medical treatment facility for which the modification in scope has been proposed, the extent to which the commander of the military installation at which the facility is located has been consulted regarding such modification, to ensure that the proposed modification in scope would have no impact on the operational plan for such installation.
(Added [Pub. L. 114–328, div. A, title VII, § 703(a)(1)], Dec. 23, 2016, [130 Stat. 2197]; amended [Pub. L. 115–91, div. A, title VII, § 711], Dec. 12, 2017, [131 Stat. 1436]; [Pub. L. 117–263, div. A, title VII], §§ 712, 713(a), 714(a), 715, Dec. 23, 2022, [136 Stat. 2657], 2659, 2660; [Pub. L. 118–159, div. A, title XVII, § 1701(a)(19)], Dec. 23, 2024, [138 Stat. 2204].)