[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 32, Volume 5]
[Revised as of July 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 32CFR757.14]

[Page 450-451]
 
                       TITLE 32--NATIONAL DEFENSE
 
                   CHAPTER VI--DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY
 
PART 757_AFFIRMATIVE CLAIMS REGULATIONS--Table of Contents
 
            Subpart B_Medical Care Recovery Act (MRCA) Claims
 
Sec. 757.14  Claims asserted.

    (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 Sec. 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

[[Page 451]]

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 Sec. 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 Federal Register for care provided in Federal 
medical care facilities; or
    (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.