32 C.F.R. § 757.14 Claims asserted.
Title 32 - National Defense
(a) General. The DON asserts MCRA claims when medical care is furnished to Navy and Marine Corps active duty personnel, retirees, or their dependents, and third-party tort liability for the injury or disease exists. Claims are asserted when the injured party is treated in a military MTF or when the DON is responsible for reimbursing a non-Federal care provider. Claims for medical care furnished are also asserted using alternate theories of recovery if the MCRA does not apply. See §757.14(e). (b) Independent cause of action. The MCRA creates an independent cause of action for the United States. The Government can administratively assert and litigate MCRA claims in its own name and for its own benefit. Procedural defenses, such as a failure of the injured person to properly file and/or serve a complaint on the third party, that may prevent the injured person from recovering, do not prevent the United States from pursuing its own action to recover the value of medical treatment provided to the injured person. The right arises directly from the statute; the statutory reference to subrogation pertain only to one mode of enforcement. In creating an independent right in the Government, the Act prevents a release given by the injured person to a third party from affecting the Government's claim. (c) Liable parties. MCRA claims may be asserted against individuals, corporations, associations and non-Federal Government agencies subject to the limitations described in §757.15. (d) Reasonable value of medical care. The reasonable value of medical care provided to an injured person is determined: (1) By using the rates set by the Office of Management and Budget and published in the (2) By the actual amount paid by the Federal Government to non-Federal medical care providers. (e) Alternate Theories of Recovery. Often, recovery under the MCRA is not possible because no third-party tort liability exists. For example, if a member, retiree, or dependent is driving a vehicle and is injured in a single-car accident, there is no tortfeasor. State law, including insurance, workers' compensation, and uninsured motorist coverage provisions, determines the DON's right to recover in situations not covered by the MCRA. If, under the law where the injury occurred, the injured party is entitled to compensation for medical care received, usually the Federal Government may recover. The two most common alternate theories are described below. (1) Recovery may be possible under the injured party's automobile insurance policy. In most cases, the Federal Government should seek recovery as a third-party beneficiary under the medical payments or the underinsured/uninsured portion of the injured party's policy. The ability of the Federal Government to recover as a third-party beneficiary has been upheld in some states, while other states have taken the contrary position. (2) Recovery may also be possible under State workers' compensation laws. Case law in this area is still emerging, but in most jurisdictions, the United States stands in the position of a lien claimant for services rendered.
Title 32: National Defense
PART 757—AFFIRMATIVE CLAIMS REGULATIONS
Subpart B—Medical Care Recovery Act (MRCA) Claims
§ 757.14 Claims asserted.
