. . . . . . . "In 1973, Congress enacted the Veteran Health Care Expansion Act of 1973, which, among other things, established effective September 1, 1973, the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) as a means of providing health care services to dependents and survivors of certain veterans. CHAMPVA is fundamentally a health insurance program where certain eligible dependents and survivors of veterans (veterans rated permanently and totally disabled from a service connected condition) obtain medical care from private health care providers."@en . . . "Health care for dependents and survivors of veterans"@en . . . . . .