Outdated VA regulations mean young adult children of some veterans soon will graduate college and deal with health care coverage concerns not faced by civilian families.

[TAKE ACTION: Ask Your Lawmakers to Support the CHAMPVA Children’s Care Protection Act]

Graduations should be a time of excitement for families and their children, but for those covered by the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA), they mean the end of the grad’s health care benefit – CHAMPVA coverage stops when a full-time student graduates, when they get married, or when they turn 23, whichever comes first.

For most Americans with health insurance, their adult children can remain on their plan until age 26 with no separate premium, as mandated in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Even TRICARE beneficiaries are eligible for the TRICARE Young Adult (TYA) Program, created by Congress in 2011, which established a monthly premium that covers all program costs; however, premiums have skyrocketed in recent years, with the plan becoming too costly for many families. MOAA supports removing this TYA premium and expanding TRICARE eligibility to dependents up to age 26.

[RELATED: Graduation Season Brings Health Care Challenges for Military Families]

CHAMPVA beneficiaries lack even a high-cost, TYA-style care option. So MOAA, The Military Coalition, and other military and veteran groups continue to press Congress to comply with the ACA law through legislation.

In testimony at a joint Senate and House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing in March, MOAA urged Congress to pass the CHAMPVA Children’s Care Protection Act. The bill would expand health care benefits under CHAMPVA to age 26 for young adult children of permanently and disabled veterans, veterans with service-connected disabilities, or veterans who died on active duty and did not quality for TRICARE coverage.

The bill would align CHAMPVA coverage more closely with employer-sponsored health care plans. Passage would also provide peace of mind and financial relief to veterans and their families and give them more possibilities for a brighter future.

Contact your lawmakers today and tell them to support the CHAMPVA Children’s Care Protection Act, along with other MOAA priorities listed at our Legislative Action Center.