CHAMPVA for Survivors — CHAMPVA

CHAMPVA for Survivors is a special health program for families of veterans who have passed away. It works like health insurance and helps pay for doctor visits, hospital stays, prescription drugs, mental health care, and many other covered services. The program is run by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and is designed to ease the financial burden on surviving spouses and children when a veteran's death is connected to military service — or when the VA had already rated the veteran as permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected condition before they passed away.

### Who qualifies as a CHAMPVA survivor

You may qualify if you are the surviving spouse or dependent child of a veteran who meets at least one of the following:

- Died in the line of duty (and the death was not due to misconduct). - Died from a VA-rated service-connected disability. - At the time of death, was permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected condition — even if they later died from something else.

Children generally qualify until age 18, or up to age 23 if enrolled full-time in an approved school. Adopted children and stepchildren who lived with the veteran can also be eligible. Surviving spouses keep eligibility unless they remarry before age 55.

### How CHAMPVA for Survivors differs from regular CHAMPVA

Regular CHAMPVA covers the spouse and children of a living veteran who has a 100% permanent and total service-connected disability rating. CHAMPVA for Survivors covers the same family members after the veteran's death, as long as the service-connection rules above are met. The covered services and cost-sharing rules are the same — the difference is the qualifying event.

### What CHAMPVA does not cover and the TRICARE rule

You generally cannot use CHAMPVA at the same time as TRICARE. If a surviving spouse or child is eligible for TRICARE (for example, the veteran was retired military), TRICARE is the primary coverage and CHAMPVA does not apply. CHAMPVA also does not cover most dental care, eye refractions for glasses, or services considered experimental.

### How to apply

To enroll, submit VA Form 10-10d (Application for CHAMPVA Benefits) along with a copy of the veteran's death certificate, marriage certificate (for spouses), birth or adoption records (for children), and any VA award letters showing the service-connected rating. Most decisions take six to eight weeks. Once approved, you receive a CHAMPVA Authorization Card and can begin using providers who accept CHAMPVA.

Surviving families who lose CHAMPVA eligibility due to a remarriage or a child aging out may want to review related survivor benefits, including <a href="/glossary/dic">DIC</a> (Dependency and Indemnity Compensation), Chapter 35 education benefits, and survivor pensions. See also: <a href="/glossary/dic">DIC</a>.