Veterans Benefits: VA and DOD
I write about 12-15 blog articles per week in addition to a weekly newsletter. That’s a lot of writing and more over, I choose my own topics. I do have a little help from the classes I teach and the many wonderful people I get the opportunity to talk with. I am always getting flooded with loads of questions. I like it because the questions give me something interesting to write about. The questions also let me know what is on the minds of people concerning retirement, veterans benefits, planning and how to make sure their families are going to be okay in the event they are not around.
When I told some people that I was going to be dedicating this week’s articles to our active and retired military personnel, did they have lots of topics for me to pull from. I thought the question about the difference between the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) where health care was concerned was a great topic to tackle in brevity.
The VA and DOD are distinctly different federal agencies. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs led by the Under Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Health is tasked with implementing medical assistance programs for the VA via outpatient clinics, medical centers,community-based outpatient clinics and nursing homes. These services collectively come under the Veterans Health Administration which is a component of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Department of Veterans Affairs sponsors a health benefits program called CHAMPVA wherein the VA shares in the cost of certain health related services and supplies to beneficiaries eligible to participate in the insurance program. CHAMPVA is essentially the civilian health and medical program of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
The Department of Defense (DOD) is responsible for all of the U.S. military hospitals around the world where medical services and treatment are provided to service members and their eligible family members. One of the most noted military hospitals is located in the nation’s capital – Walter Reed Army Medical Center. It is a military hospital and not a VA facility.
TRICARE is a major part of the Military Health System managed by the Defense Health Agency under the auspices of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. TRICARE is a health care program for service members and their families around the world whether they are active, retired, guard or reserve.
Hope this gives some clarity to the mission of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) via health care facilities and visions provided to service members retired and active.
P. S. Always Remember to Share What You Know.
