TRICARE; Elimination of the Non-Availability Statement (NAS) Requirement for Non-Emergency Inpatient Mental Health Care
personnel · US Department of Defense · Rule · Published 2013-02-26 · Effective 2013-03-28 · 78 FR 12951
Document
Document number
2013-03418
Federal Register citation
78 FR 12951
CFR reference
32 CFR 199
Type
Rule
Action
Final rule.
Category
personnel
Sub-agency
US Department of Defense
Publication date
2013-02-26
Effective date
2013-03-28
DOD docket
Docket ID: DOD-2011-HA-0059
Abstract
This final rule eliminates the requirement that states a NAS is needed for non-emergency inpatient mental health care in order for a TRICARE Standard beneficiary's claim to be paid. Currently, NAS are required for non-emergency inpatient mental health care for TRICARE Standard beneficiaries who live within a military treatment facility catchment area. At this time, the number of NASs issued is negligible as most mental health admissions are emergency admissions. Requiring a NAS for a relatively few non-emergency inpatient mental health admissions is disproportionate to the cost of maintaining the systems necessary to process and coordinate the NAS.