GDX File Analysis 2013 vs. 2012 at state level
The General Description of Geographic Distribution of the Department of Veterans Affairs Expenditures
(GDX) is prepared each fiscal year by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Policy, Planning and
Preparedness. The GDX Report presents the estimated dollar expenditures for major VA Programs by county
and Congressional Districts within each state. Expenditure data is grouped by the following categories:
Compensation and Pension (C&P); Education and Vocational Rehabilitation; Insurance and Indemnities;
Construction (CNSTR); General Operating Expenses (GOE); and Medical Care. The GDX Report also
includes veteran population estimates by county and Congressional District within each state and the number
of unique patients who used VA health care services. (http://www.va.gov/VETDATA/docs/GDX/GDX_Readme.pdf)
Analysis of the 2013 GDX file shows Indiana continues to rank 16th in veteran population with 480,380
veterans. This is down by 8,564 from the 2012 reported population of 498,944.
Indiana ranked 48th in 2012 ahead of Delaware and New Jersey. Indiana improved to 47th in 2013
performing better that Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey.
The calculated compensation per veteran improved by over $1000 between years; it was 3.89505/yr in 2012
and grew to 4.93505/yr in 2013. Other VA data shows the decline of 8,564 was mostly males between
30 and 50 years of age. Female veterans actually increased from 37,567 in 2012 to 37,906 in 2013. This is
a net increase of 339 women veterans.
Indiana had 128,499 veterans actually receive VA benefits in 2013 for and average amount of $18,833.235
per veteran. This dollar amount is a theoretical calculation and does not represents what every veteran gets. If
one looks at performance, based on average dollars received by veterans receiving benefits, then
Indiana performs better and ranks 43rd ahead of South Dakota, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Vermont,
North Dakota, and Iowa.
There are other very positive signs—the number of veterans receiving compensation grew from 126,530 in
2012, to 128,499 in 2013. This is a 1969 net gain on veterans receiving benefits. The dollars paid in
compensation grew by 25% ($219,019,700.00/yr). Education & Vocational Rehabilitation/ Employment grew
by 14% ($18,708,150.00/yr). Overall total expenditures paid directly to veterans grew by almost 21%
($418,154,388.63). The total expenditures paid to veterans who are Indiana residence is
$2,420,052,000.00.
Additional analysis:
The Department of Veterans Affairs, in FY08, established a target of 36% of the veteran population should
receive VA benefits and services. Indiana has 26.2% of Hoosiers receiving these same benefits in FY13.
This places Indiana at 25th among the 50 states using FY13 data.
Over 48,000 Hoosier Veterans are needed to get to the 36% mark! Another way to look at this is that Indiana
lost an average of $19,000 per veteran NOT PART OF THE CURRENT 36%-- THIS IS $904,707,177
ANNUALLY LOST! Therefore Indiana lost $3.6 TRILLION in net income since FY08 to these
residents of the state—AND Indiana Government lost ALL the taxes that would have been garnered had the
veterans had this money to spend! Assuming that 9.8 cents of every dollar spent goes to Indiana taxes and that
the velocity of money is 5; Indiana missed out on $443.6 MILLION annually since FY09.
Indiana missed out on $2.660 BILLION since FY2009!