CHAMPVA: health coverage for the family of a permanently and totally disabled veteran
The spouse and children of a veteran with a permanent and total service-connected disability may be eligible for CHAMPVA health coverage, verify with the VHA Office of Community Care.
A benefit for the family, gated on the veteran's status
CHAMPVA is health coverage for the spouse and children of a qualifying veteran, run by the VHA Office of Community Care under 38 CFR §17.271. The veteran is not the beneficiary; the family is.
The gate is a permanent and total service-connected disability. A 100% rating that is not permanent does not qualify the family, and that distinction matters: permanent and total is a separate determination VA makes, not something a rating percentage alone can show. Survivors of veterans who died from a service-connected condition, or who were permanently and totally disabled at death, may also be covered.
The TRICARE rule and how to verify
Family members who are eligible for TRICARE are not eligible for CHAMPVA; the two programs do not overlap. Medicare enrollment rules also apply once a beneficiary is Medicare-eligible.
The VHA Office of Community Care decides CHAMPVA eligibility and enrollment (VA Form 10-10d). Verify your family's situation there; this page explains the landscape and determines nothing.
See it next to everything else your rating may open
The Benefits Explorer lists this program beside the rest of the federal set, and your state’s verified programs, keyed to your combined rating. Educational only. Every program is decided by the agency named on it.