A member of the armed forces described in subsection (b) is entitled to medical care for a qualifying Persian Gulf symptom or illness to the same extent and under the same conditions (other than the requirement that the member be on active duty) as a member of a uniformed service who is entitled to such care under section 1074(a) of this title.

Subsection (a) applies to a member of a reserve component who—

(1) is a Persian Gulf veteran;

(2) has a qualifying Persian Gulf symptom or illness; and

(3) is not otherwise entitled to medical care for such symptom or illness under this chapter and is not otherwise eligible for hospital care and medical services for such symptom or illness under section 1710 of title 38.

In this section:

(1) The term “Persian Gulf veteran” means a member of the armed forces who served on active duty in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf Conflict.

The term “qualifying Persian Gulf symptom or illness” means, with respect to a member described in subsection (b), a symptom or illness—

(A) that the member registered before September 1, 1997, in the Comprehensive Clinical Evaluation Program of the Department of Defense and that is presumed under section 721(d) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 (10 U.S.C. 1074 note) to be a result of service in the Southwest Asia theater of operations during the Persian Gulf Conflict; or

(B) that the member registered before September 1, 1997, in the Persian Gulf War Veterans Health Registry maintained by the Department of Veterans Affairs pursuant to section 702 of the Persian Gulf War Veterans’ Health Status Act (38 U.S.C. 527 note).

(Added Pub. L. 105–85, div. A, title VII, § 764(a), Nov. 18, 1997, 111 Stat. 1825.)