1. (a) Prohibition.— Notwithstanding subsections (f) and (g) of section 1710 and section 1722A(a) of this title or any other provision of law, the Secretary may not require a covered veteran to make any copayment for the receipt of hospital care or medical services under the laws administered by the Secretary.

2. (b) Covered Veteran Defined.— In this section, the term “covered veteran” means a veteran who—

   1. (1) is catastrophically disabled, as defined by the Secretary; or
   2. (2) is an Indian or urban Indian (as those terms are defined in section 4 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. 1603)).

(Added Pub. L. 111–163, title V, § 511(a), May 5, 2010, 124 Stat. 1164; amended Pub. L. 116–315, title III, § 3002(a), Jan. 5, 2021, 134 Stat. 4990.)

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2021—Pub. L. 116–315 substituted “certain” for “catastrophically disabled” in section catchline, designated existing provisions as subsec. (a) and inserted heading, substituted “a covered veteran” for “a veteran who is catastrophically disabled, as defined by the Secretary,”, and added subsec. (b).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date of 2021 Amendment

Pub. L. 116–315, title III, § 3002(c), Jan. 5, 2021, 134 Stat. 4991, provided that:

“The amendments made by this section [amending this section] shall take effect on the day that is one year after the date of the enactment of this Act [

Jan. 5, 2021].”