Armed Forces News

An extended deadline will allow more time for some remarried surviving spouses of veterans to seek health care insurance under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA). The extension applies to CHAMPVA-eligible spouses who remarry after a veteran’s death. Surviving spouses lost access to CHAMPVA benefits if they remarried before their 55th birthday and before Feb. 4, 2003. Under rules announced previously, those survivors had until Feb. 4, 2004, to apply for reinstatement of their CHAMPVA coverage. The VA has now announced that they will have until Dec. 16, 2004, to apply for reinstatement. To be eligible for CHAMPVA, an individual must be a family member of a veteran who (1) has a permanent and total service-connected disability; or (2) died of a service-connected condition; or (3) died while totally disabled from a service-connected condition.