U.S. Code > Title 10 Armed Forces > Subtitle A—General Military Law (§§ 101—2925) > PART II—PERSONNEL (§§ 501—1801_to_1805) > CHAPTER 55—MEDICAL AND DENTAL CARE (§§ 1071—1110b) > § 1077. Medical care for dependents: authorized care in facilities of uniformed services

§ 1077. Medical care for dependents: authorized care in facilities of uniformed services

(a) Only the following types of health care may be provided under section 1076 of this title:
(1) Hospitalization.
(2) Outpatient care.
(3) Drugs.
(4) Treatment of medical and surgical conditions.
(5) Treatment of nervous, mental, and chronic conditions.
(6) Treatment of contagious diseases.
(7) Physical examinations, including eye examinations, and immunizations.
(8) Maternity and infant care, including well-baby care that includes one screening of an infant for the level of lead in the blood of the infant.
(9) Diagnostic tests and services, including laboratory and X-ray examinations.
(10) Dental care.
(11) Ambulance service and home calls when medically necessary.
(12) Durable equipment, which may be provided on a loan basis.
(13) Primary and preventive health care services for women (as defined in section 1074d (b) of this title).
(14) Preventive health care screening for colon or prostate cancer, at the intervals and using the screening methods prescribed under section 1074d (a)(2) of this title.
(15) Prosthetic devices, as determined by the Secretary of Defense to be necessary because of significant conditions resulting from trauma, congenital anomalies, or disease.
(16) A hearing aid, but only for a dependent of a member of the uniformed services on active duty and only if the dependent has a profound hearing loss, as determined under standards prescribed in regulations by the Secretary of Defense in consultation with the administering Secretaries.
(17) Any rehabilitative therapy to improve, restore, or maintain function, or to minimize or prevent deterioration of function, of a patient when prescribed by a physician.
(b) The following types of health care may not be provided under section 1076 of this title:
(1) Domiciliary or custodial care.
(2) Orthopedic footwear and spectacles, except that, outside of the United States and at stations inside the United States where adequate civilian facilities are unavailable, such items may be sold to dependents at cost to the United States.
(3) The elective correction of minor dermatological blemishes and marks or minor anatomical anomalies.
(c)
(1) Except as specified in paragraph (2), a dependent participating under a dental plan established under section 1076a of this title may not be provided dental care under section 1076 (a) of this title except for emergency dental care, dental care provided outside the United States, and dental care that is not covered by such plan.
(2)
(A) Dependents who are 12 years of age or younger and are covered by a dental plan established under section 1076a of this title may be treated by postgraduate dental residents in a dental treatment facility of the uniformed services under a graduate dental education program accredited by the American Dental Association if—
(i) treatment of pediatric dental patients is necessary in order to satisfy an accreditation standard of the American Dental Association that is applicable to such program, or training in pediatric dental care is necessary for the residents to be professionally qualified to provide dental care for dependent children accompanying members of the uniformed services outside the United States; and
(ii) the number of pediatric patients at such facility is insufficient to support satisfaction of the accreditation or professional requirements in pediatric dental care that apply to such program or students.
(B) The total number of dependents treated in all facilities of the uniformed services under subparagraph (A) in a fiscal year may not exceed 2,000.
(d)
(1) Notwithstanding subsection (b)(1), hospice care may be provided under section 1076 of this title in facilities of the uniformed services to a terminally ill patient who chooses (pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense in consultation with the other administering Secretaries) to receive hospice care rather than continuing hospitalization or other health care services for treatment of the patient’s terminal illness.
(2) In this section, the term “hospice care” means the items and services described in section 1861(dd) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x (dd)).
(e)
(1) Authority to provide a prosthetic device under subsection (a)(15) includes authority to provide the following:
(A) Any accessory or item of supply that is used in conjunction with the device for the purpose of achieving therapeutic benefit and proper functioning.
(B) Services necessary to train the recipient of the device in the use of the device.
(C) Repair of the device for normal wear and tear or damage.
(D) Replacement of the device if the device is lost or irreparably damaged or the cost of repair would exceed 60 percent of the cost of replacement.
(2) An augmentative communication device may be provided as a voice prosthesis under subsection (a)(15).
(3) A prosthetic device customized for a patient may be provided under this section only by a prosthetic practitioner who is qualified to customize the device, as determined under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense in consultation with the administering Secretaries.
(f)
(1) Items that may be provided to a patient under subsection (a)(12) include the following:
(A) Any durable medical equipment that can improve, restore, or maintain the function of a malformed, diseased, or injured body part, or can otherwise minimize or prevent the deterioration of the patient’s function or condition.
(B) Any durable medical equipment that can maximize the patient’s function consistent with the patient’s physiological or medical needs.
(C) Wheelchairs.
(D) Iron lungs.
(E) Hospital beds.
(2) In addition to the authority to provide durable medical equipment under subsection (a)(12), any customization of equipment owned by the patient that is durable medical equipment authorized to be provided to the patient under this section or section 1079 (a)(5) of this title, and any accessory or item of supply for any such equipment, may be provided to the patient if the customization, accessory, or item of supply is essential for—
(A) achieving therapeutic benefit for the patient;
(B) making the equipment serviceable; or
(C) otherwise assuring the proper functioning of the equipment.