((a)) ** .—**

((1)) The Secretary of Defense may authorize a contractor under the TRICARE program to pay a claim described in paragraph (2) before seeking to recover from a third-party payer the costs incurred by the contractor to provide health care services that are the basis of the claim to a beneficiary under such program.

((2)) A claim under this paragraph is a claim—

((A)) that is submitted to the contractor by a provider under the TRICARE program for payment for services for health care provided to a covered beneficiary; and

((B)) that is identified by the contractor as a claim for which a third-party payer may be liable.

((b)) ** .—** The United States shall have the same right to collect charges related to claims described in subsection (a) as charges for claims under .

((c)) ** .—** In this section, the term “third-party payer” has the meaning given that term in , except that such term excludes primary medical insurers.