Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs

The Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) is a comprehensive health care program in which the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) shares the cost of covered health care services and supplies with eligible beneficiaries. The program is administered by Health Administration Center the offices of which are located in Denver, Colorado.

Due to the similarity between CHAMPVA and the Department of Defense (DoD) TRICARE program (sometimes referred to by its old name, CHAMPUS) the two are often mistaken for each other. CHAMPVA is a Department of Veterans Affairs program whereas TRICARE is a regionally managed health care program for active duty and retired members of the uniformed services, their families, and survivors. In some cases a veterans may look to be eligible for both/either program on paper. However, if you are a military retiree, or the spouse of a veteran who was killed in action, you are and will always be a TRICARE beneficiary, you can´t choose between the two.

Eligibility
To be eligible for CHAMPVA, the person cannot be eligible for TRICARE/CHAMPUS and must be in one of these categories:


 * The spouse or child of a veteran who has been rated permanently and totally disabled for a service-connected disability by a VA regional office, or
 * The surviving spouse or child of a veteran who died from a VA-rated service connected disability, or
 * The surviving spouse or child of a veteran who was at the time death rated permanently and totally disabled from a service connected disability, or
 * The surviving spouse or child of a military member who died in the line of duty, not due to misconduct (in most of these cases, these family members are eligible for TRICARE, not CHAMPVA).

An eligible CHAMPVA sponsor may be entitled to receive medical care through the VA health care system based on his or her own veteran status. Additionally, as the result of a recent policy change, if the eligible CHAMPVA sponsor is the spouse of another eligible CHAMPVA sponsor, both may now be eligible for CHAMPVA benefits. In each instance where the eligible spouse requires medical attention, he or she may choose the VA health care system or coverage under CHAMPVA for his/her health care needs.

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