§438 Preventive health services allowance

Summary

Run a demonstration project from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2011, to test giving an annual "preventive health services allowance" to certain active-duty members and their dependents to boost use of preventive care. Members must be on active duty more than 30 days and meet medical and dental readiness. Each year no more than 1,500 members in each of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps may get the allowance, with half having dependents and half not. The military must pay $500 a year for members without dependents and $1,000 a year for members with dependents. The Secretary of Defense will list allowed services and how often they can be used; at minimum these include colorectal, breast, cervical, prostate screening, yearly physical and dental exams, weight/BMI checks, and vaccinations, and must make local access reasonable. The Department must track and record the health of participants and their dependents and the results of any qualifying tests, and evaluate whether those tests are medically useful. The Secretary of Defense must report to Congress by March 31, 2010, and March 31, 2012, on the project’s status, health findings, suggested policy changes, and whether the project should continue. The Secretary must also issue rules to run the program.