A U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs program. If you don’t qualify for TRICARE (the Department of Defense’s health care program for active-duty and retired service members and their families), you may be able to get health insurance through the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA). Through this cost-sharing program, the cost of some of your health care services and supplies is covered.
Eligibility Requirements
You may only be eligible for health care through CHAMPVA if you don’t qualify for TRICARE and at least one of these descriptions is true for you::
You’re the spouse or child of a Veteran who’s been rated permanently and totally disabled for a service-connected disability by a VA regional office, or
You’re the surviving spouse or child of a Veteran who died from a VA-rated service-connected disability, or
You’re the surviving spouse or child of a Veteran who was at the time of death rated permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected disability, or
You’re the surviving spouse or child of a service member who died in the line of duty, not due to misconduct (in most of these cases, family members qualify for TRICARE, not CHAMPVA).
A service-connected disability is a disability that we’ve concluded was caused—or made worse—by the Veteran’s active-duty service. A permanent disability is one that’s not expected to improve.
Note: A Veteran who’s the qualifying CHAMPVA sponsor for their family may also qualify for the VA health care program based on their own Veteran status. If 2 spouses are both Veterans who qualify as CHAMPVA sponsors for their family, they both may now qualify for CHAMPVA benefits. Each time they need medical care, they may choose to get care through the VA health care program or using their CHAMPVA coverage.