§ 213a. Rights, benefits, privileges, and immunities for commissioned officers or beneficiaries; exercise of authority by Secretary or designee
(a)
Commissioned officers of the Service or their surviving beneficiaries are entitled to all the rights, benefits, privileges, and immunities now or hereafter provided for commissioned officers of the Army or their surviving beneficiaries under the following provisions of title 10:
(2)
Chapter 61, Retirement or Separation for Physical Disability, except that sections
1201,
1202, and
1203 do not apply to commissioned officers of the Public Health Service who have been ordered to active duty for training for a period of more than 30 days.
(8)
Chapter 163, Military Claims, but only when commissioned officers of the Service are entitled to military benefits under section
213 of this title.
(b)
The authority vested by title 10 in the “military departments”, “the Secretary concerned”, or “the Secretary of Defense” with respect to the rights, privileges, immunities, and benefits referred to in subsection (a) of this section shall be exercised, with respect to commissioned officers of the Service, by the Secretary of Health and Human Services or his designee.
[1] See References in Text note below.