Putting Families First: Why Strengthening CHAMPVA Is Long Overdue
When a veteran is severely injured or dies from service-connected causes, the government promises that the family will not be left behind. CHAMPVA is supposed to be part of that promise. It is meant to help spouses, surviving spouses, children, and caregivers access healthcare without fear, confusion, or crushing bills.
That is the theory. The hearing on December 10 showed that the reality is far less reassuring.
A Benefit That Looks Like Insurance but Does Not Act Like It
Ranking Member Brownley was blunt: if CHAMPVA looks like insurance, operates like insurance, and is used like insurance, then we should treat it like insurance. Families should not need multi-hour phone waits, paper forms, broken ID cards (this refers to the paper slip that has to be obtained only from the VA and can be deemed invalid if a drink spills on it, not an actual durable card), and guesswork about payment rates. They should not need a detective’s patience to find a provider who understands how to bill the program.
When the VA insists CHAMPVA is not insurance, it becomes an excuse to maintain outdated systems instead of investing in the tools families deserve.
Progress Is Real, but So Are the Pain Points
Credit where credit is due. The VA eliminated a massive application backlog, modernized online applications, and sped up electronic claims. Some applications are now processed in as few as four days. Those are advances worth celebrating.
But even the VA’s own witnesses acknowledged that major gaps remain.
• Providers avoid CHAMPVA because billing is confusing and rates are not easily understood.
• Families cannot track applications or claims without calling, which creates two-hour-plus wait times.
• Accredited county officers still have to fax or mail applications because electronic submission does not exist.
• Families in Guam, CNMI, and other territories have almost no access to participating providers, and the VA cannot measure wait times or outcomes.
This is not a system built around families. It is a system families must maneuver around.
A Promissory Note No Family Should Ever Face
Mrs. Caira Benson gave testimony that should stop Congress in its tracks. To secure emergency hospitalization for her daughter, she signed a 110,000 dollar promissory note. Her mental health providers still do not accept CHAMPVA. She has spent years chasing claims, correcting coding errors, and explaining the program to providers who have never heard of it.
She is not alone. Many families pay out of pocket for their children’s mental health care because pediatric clinicians refuse to accept CHAMPVA. Providers who accept TRICARE decline CHAMPVA because billing practices are unclear and payments are unpredictable.
When even the most medically vulnerable families must fight this hard, something is broken.
Survivors and Dependents Should Not Be an Afterthought
Surviving spouses and children rely on CHAMPVA during the most difficult years of their lives. Yet the system still trips people at exactly the wrong moments. Students turning eighteen risk losing coverage because of outdated school verification rules. Families in the territories face near-total service deserts. Caregivers supporting severely injured veterans struggle to get information, find providers, or resolve claims without a marathon of phone calls.
As one Congressman noted, expiring ACA tax credits may push even more families toward CHAMPVA. Yet the VA cannot say how many beneficiaries currently rely on ACA plans or what an enrollment surge would mean.
Planning for the future requires knowing what is already happening. Families should not be the data gap.
Technology Is Not a Luxury
In 2025, any major healthcare program should offer:
• Online status tracking
• Electronic submissions
• Transparent billing rules
• A functioning provider directory
• AI-assisted workflows that reduce wait times
The VA is moving in that direction, slowly. Automation is helping claims move faster. Upgraded telephony may ease call center pressure. A provider directory is finally underway.
But until these tools are fully built and functioning, families will continue to rely on paper, persistence, and the hope that someone at the other end picks up the phone.
A Simple Principle: Take Care of the Families
CHAMPVA exists because service-connected injuries and deaths do not just affect the veteran. They reshape the entire family’s life. That means the system must work for caregivers trying to keep their household stable, for survivors navigating loss, and for children who need timely healthcare.
The hearing made one truth unmistakably clear: CHAMPVA reform is not a policy luxury. It is a moral obligation.
Families have carried the weight of service and sacrifice. The least the country can do is carry its share of the administrative burden.
Congress now has a roadmap. The VA has acknowledged the problems. Survivors and dependents have spoken up. The question is no longer what needs to be fixed, but how quickly leaders will act.
Because if CHAMPVA is supposed to put families first, it is time the system behaved like it.
ALSO: HAVING A REAL AND DURABLE CARD FOR PROOF OF INSURANCE INSTEAD OF A SLIP OF PAPER THAT CAN ONLY BE PRINTED BY THE VA WOULD BE HELPFUL TOO.
