```
Veterans' Health Care: A Profile of Married Veterans Using VA Medical
Centers in 1991 (Fact Sheet, 08/26/94, GAO/HEHS-94-223FS).

In a March 1994 report (GAO/HEHS-94-113FS), GAO profiled veterans who
used medical centers that were run by the Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA). That report focused on veterans' family incomes and showed how
family income varied in relation to a range of characteristics,
including employment status. This fact sheet examines married veterans,
analyzing the percentage of family income attributable to veterans and
spouses and comparing married veterans' incomes with those of single
veterans. In addition, this fact sheet further refines veterans'
employment status to differentiate between veterans receiving employee
compensation and those with self-employment income.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  HEHS-94-223FS
     TITLE:  Veterans' Health Care: A Profile of Married Veterans Using 
             VA Medical Centers in 1991
      DATE:  08/26/94
   SUBJECT:  Veterans benefits
             Veterans
             Veterans hospitals
             Income statistics
             Demographic data
             Handicapped persons
             Health care services
             Compensation

             
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Cover
================================================================ COVER

Fact Sheet for the Chairman
Committee on Veterans' Affairs
House of Representatives

August 1994

VETERANS' HEALTH CARE - A PROFILE
OF MARRIED VETERANS USING VA
MEDICAL CENTERS IN 1991

GAO/HEHS-94-223FS

VA Health Care

Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV

  IRS - Internal Revenue Service
  VA - Department of Veterans Affairs

Letter
=============================================================== LETTER

B-258050

August 26, 1994

The Honorable G.V.  (Sonny) Montgomery
Chairman, Committee on Veterans Affairs
House of Representatives

Dear Mr.  Chairman: 

In March 1994, we provided a profile of veterans who used medical
centers during 1991 that were operated by the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA).\1 The profile focused on veterans' family incomes and
showed how family income varied in relation to a range of
characteristics, including employment status.  This fact sheet
focuses on married veterans, analyzing the percentage of family
income attributable to veterans and spouses, and comparing married
veterans' incomes with those of single veterans.  In addition, this
fact sheet further refines veterans' employment status to
differentiate between veterans receiving employee compensation and
those with self-employment income. 

--------------------
\1 VA Health Care:  A Profile of Veterans Using VA Medical Centers in
1991 (GAO/HEHS-94-113FS, Mar.  29, 1994). 

   BACKGROUND
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :1

In 1991, VA's 158 medical centers, consisting of 171 hospitals and
over 200 outpatient clinics, served about 2.2 million veterans.  As
our March 1994 profile shows, these veterans had family incomes
totalling $41.7 billion (see app.  I for our definition of family
income).  Of the 2.2 million veterans, about 40 percent were married,
and these veterans' family incomes accounted for the majority of the
income, as figure 1 shows. 

   Figure 1:  Marital Status of
   Veterans Using VA Medical
   Centers (1991)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Of the 2.2 million veterans, about 1 million had conditions that were
incurred or aggravated by military service (service-connected) and
1.2 million had conditions unrelated to military service
(nonservice-connected).  Almost one-half of the service-connected
veterans and about one-third of the nonservice-connected veterans
were married, as shown in figure 2. 

   Figure 2:  Marital Status of
   Veterans Using VA Medical
   Centers, by Disability Status
   (1991)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Note:  SC=service-connected; NSC=nonservice-connected. 

   METHODOLOGY
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :2

Using IRS' information returns master file, we measured incomes that
veterans who use VA facilities may typically have available to spend
on health care.  We used selected sources of income from that file to
develop an estimate of income (veteran and spouse) that covers four
general income sources:  employee compensation, retirement benefits,
interest and dividends, and nonemployee compensation.  Our income
analyses are not intended to provide an economic measure of veterans'
income.  For example, we excluded certain potentially nonrecurring or
needs-based income sources, such as capital gains and losses and
welfare benefits.  While the income sources we used in our analyses
represent the vast majority of these veterans' family incomes
available for health care expenditures, we recognize that the incomes
of some veterans' families may be understated or overstated because
all income sources were not included. 

Furthermore, our treatment of interest and dividend income results in
an inaccurate assignment of that income between veterans and their
spouses to the extent that bank accounts and other assets are jointly
owned by husband and wife.  This is because we assigned interest and
dividend income to the individual listed as the payee on the relevant
information return.  However, ownership of bank accounts or other
financial assets cannot be determined from information returns and
tax records.  Interest and dividend income accounts for less than 10
percent of married veterans' family incomes.  Therefore, a more
precise allocation of interest and dividend income would not
significantly change the overall distribution of total income between
veterans and their spouses.  (See app.  I for details of our
methodology.)

   RESULTS
------------------------------------------------------------ Letter :3

The individual incomes of the 855,000 married veterans were
considerably higher than the individual incomes of their spouses and
the incomes of the 1.3 million single veterans (see app.  II).  Our
analyses show the following: 

  About one-third of the 855,444 married veterans who used VA centers
     in 1991 had incomes below $10,000, compared with almost
     two-thirds of the spouses.  In contrast, about 20 percent of the
     married veterans had incomes over $30,000 compared with about 5
     percent of the spouses. 

  About one-third of the married veterans had incomes less than
     $10,000 compared with about two-thirds of the single veterans. 
     By contrast, about 20 percent of the married veterans had
     incomes of $30,000 or more compared with about 5 percent of the
     single veterans. 

The income status of married veterans increased dramatically when
married veterans' and their spouses' incomes were combined to form a
family income (see app.  III).  We found that

  About 10 percent of veterans had family incomes under $10,000
     compared with 29 percent of married veterans who had individual
     incomes below that amount (see fig.  III.1).  In contrast, 37
     percent of veterans had family incomes of $30,000 or more
     compared with less than 20 percent of married veterans with
     personal incomes above these levels. 

  Veterans' income accounted for the majority of the family income of
     married couples.  About two-thirds of the veterans had over 60
     percent of their families' incomes, with those in the lower
     income ranges generally accounting for slightly higher shares. 
     By comparison, about one-fifth of the spouses had over 60
     percent of the families' incomes. 

In general, married veterans with service-connected disabilities had
higher incomes than married veterans without service-connected
disabilities.  Of the 456,135 disabled veterans, about 24 percent had
incomes less than $10,000 compared with 35 percent of the nondisabled
veterans.  By contrast, 25 percent of the disabled veterans had
incomes of $30,000 or more compared with 12 percent of the
nondisabled veterans.  However, the incomes for spouses of disabled
veterans did not vary greatly from the incomes of nondisabled spouses
(see app.  IV). 

As our March 1994 profile shows,\2 about 40 percent of the 2.2
million veterans had received employee compensation; that is, wages
or salaries paid by an employer.  In addition, more than 8 percent of
the 2.2 million veterans had self-employment income.  Over one-third
of these veterans also had employee compensation, while the rest had
only self-employment income.  The percentage of self-employed
veterans did not vary greatly between those with service-connected
disabilities and those without such disabilities (see app.  V). 

We did not obtain formal agency comments on this fact sheet; however,
we did discuss the information presented in this fact sheet with
responsible agency officials and incorporated their comments where
appropriate. 

--------------------
\2 VA Health Care (GAO/HEHS-94-113FS, Mar.  29, 1994). 

---------------------------------------------------------- Letter :3.1

As arranged with your office, unless you announce its contents
earlier, we plan no further distribution of this fact sheet until 30
days after its issue date.  At that time, we will send copies to the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs.  We also will make copies available to
others upon request. 

If you have any questions about this fact sheet, please contact Paul
Reynolds, Assistant Director, at (202) 512-7101.  Other major
contributors to this fact sheet include Thomas Bloom, John Kirstein,
Richard Meehl, and Wayne Turowski. 

Sincerely yours,

David P.  Baine
Director, Federal Health
 Care Delivery Issues

SCOPE AND METHODOLOGY
=========================================================== Appendix I

We used a two-step process to obtain data needed to develop a profile
of veterans using VA medical centers.  First, we used VA's patient
treatment records and identified the universe of veterans who used VA
centers and obtained various characteristics, such as age and
utilization information.  Second, we used the IRS' tax records to
obtain income information and marital and dependent status. 

Using VA's patient treatment records for 1991, we identified 2.2
million veterans who used VA's inpatient and outpatient health care
facilities.  We selected 1991 because it was the latest year for
which federal tax records were available when we started our field
work.  Of these veterans, 964,400 had disabilities that were incurred
or aggravated by military service, and 1,236,431 veterans had no
disabling conditions related to military service.  We did not obtain
treatment information for veterans who used only nursing homes or
domiciliaries. 

Using the information returns master file, we measured income that
these veterans may typically have had available for health care
expenditures.  These records from the IRS contained information
reported by third-party payers for four general income categories: 
employee compensation, retirement benefits, interest and dividends,
and nonemployee compensation for veterans and their spouses.  Data on
income attributable to children or other dependents (except spouses)
were not obtained because IRS officials advised us that they could
not readily provide such data.  Third-party tax data are year-end
statements of income filed by employers, banks, companies, and other
payers.  These documents are used by IRS primarily as an enforcement
tool for auditing income reported on individual tax returns. 
Further, the IRS performs accuracy checks on these reports before
posting the data to its files. 

The income sources we used in our analyses represent the vast
majority of these veterans' family incomes.  However, our family
income analyses are not intended to provide a complete economic
measure of veterans' incomes.  This is because all income sources
were not included.  We examined tax return data relating to most of
the excluded income sources and found that approximately 12 percent
of the families in our population reported net income in excess of
$1,000 (averaging about $8,700) from these sources.  Another 5
percent of the families reported net losses in excess of $1,000
(averaging about $8,200) from these sources.  We performed some
sensitivity analyses and concluded that the distribution of incomes
shown in tables III.1 and III.2 of our March 1994 report will not
change significantly.  We also expect that the distributions shown in
our other report tables will not change substantially. 

Our family income analyses, for example, also excluded potentially
nonrecurring sources of unearned income, such as prizes and awards or
unemployment compensation.  We also excluded certain nontaxable
income sources for which information returns are not available, such
as VA benefits, welfare benefits, workers compensation, and
tax-exempt interest income.  Also, the following types of taxable
income, which represent data available only from individual
taxpayers' returns, were not included in determining veterans' income
levels: 

  capital gains and losses;

  sole proprietorship income and losses;

  income or losses from partnerships, S corporations, estates,
     trusts, rents, and royalties;

  net farm income or losses; and

  alimony received. 

We assigned interest and dividend income to the individual who was
listed as the payee on the relevant information return.  However,
information returns and tax records did not allow us to precisely
determine ownership of bank accounts or other financial assets. 
Without reviewing individual account registrations or other asset
information, we could not verify the allocation of income from these
specific assets.  In cases where bank accounts or other financial
assets were jointly owned by the veteran and the spouse, we allocated
the income derived from these assets to the individual designated as
the payee for tax purposes; we assigned none of the income to the
other person.  In reality, either the veteran or the spouse has as
much claim to that income as the designated payee. 

Our review relied almost entirely on computerized data in VA and
federal tax records; we were unable to independently verify the data. 
The Internal Revenue Code does not permit us to disclose tax data in
a form that would identify individual taxpayers.  Without such
disclosures, we could not verify specific veterans' income amounts. 
However, IRS data show that the overall payer accuracy rate for
information returns is at least 95 percent.  Therefore, we are
confident that the data are reasonably accurate for the income items
that we have included in our analysis.  Also, the Veterans Benefits
Administration has used similar tax records to detect inaccuracies in
pension beneficiaries' reported incomes and has found that the
records are very accurate, based on interviews with individual
veterans. 

We did our work from April 1994 through July 1994 in accordance with
generally accepted government auditing standards. 

INDIVIDUAL INCOME STATUS OF
MARRIED VETERANS USING VA MEDICAL
CENTERS
========================================================== Appendix II

This appendix contains information on the income status of the
855,444 married veterans who used VA medical centers in 1991.  It
shows the percentage of veterans and spouses who had individual
incomes from each source and the total dollar amounts of the income. 
Income sources are employee compensation, retirement income, interest
and dividends, and nonemployee compensation; the latter source refers
to payments such as fees or commissions paid to people not considered
to be employees for services rendered in a trade or business.  The
appendix also shows the percentage of veterans and spouses with
individual incomes within different dollar ranges and the percentage
with income from each source within different dollar ranges. 

In general, two-thirds of the married veterans had retirement income
and interest and dividends, while less than one-half of the spouses
had such income (see fig II.1).  By contrast, about one-half of the
veterans and spouses had employee compensation.  Veterans' income
accounted for two-thirds of the $27.3 billion in total income for
married couples; retirement income represented a large percentage of
this difference between veterans' and spouses' incomes (see fig. 
II.2).  Also, veterans had almost $2 billion more in employee
compensation than spouses, even though fewer veterans received
employee compensation. 

Veterans and spouses received higher levels of income from employee
compensation than they received from any other source (see table
II.1).  Of the 855,444 married veterans, less than one-third had
incomes below $10,000 compared with almost two-thirds of the spouses. 
By contrast, about 20 percent of the married veterans had incomes of
$30,000 or more compared with about 5 percent of the spouses (see
fig.  II.3). 

Overall, married veterans' individual incomes greatly exceeded the
incomes of single veterans (see fig.  II.4).  Less than one-third of
the married veterans had individual incomes less than $10,000
compared with about two-thirds of the single veterans.  By contrast,
about 20 percent of the married veterans had incomes of $30,000 or
more compared with about 5 percent of the single veterans. 

   Figure II.1:  Income Sources
   for Married Veterans Using VA
   Medical Centers, by Veteran and
   Spouse (1991)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Note:  Married veterans = 855,444

   Figure II.2:  Income Sources
   for Married Veterans Using VA
   Medical Centers, by Veteran and
   Spouse Income (1991)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Note:  Total family income for married veterans is $27.3 billion. 

                                    Table II.1
                     
                       Income Sources for Married Veterans
                     Using VA Medical Centers, by Veteran and
                                  Spouse (1991)

                  Vetera          Vetera          Vetera          Vetera
Range by source        n  Spouse       n  Spouse       n  Spouse       n  Spouse
----------------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------
Under $10,000         39      49      46      86      92      96      80      86
$10,000 to            26      31      39      10       6       3      10       8
 $19,999
$20,000 to            18      13      10       2       2       1       4       3
 $29,999
$30,000 to            11       5       3       1       0       0       2       1
 $39,999
$40,000 or more        6       2       2       1       0       0       4       2
================================================================================
Total                100     100     100     100     100     100     100     100
Veterans          400,49  408,79  560,83  336,56  588,20  429,06  102,40  48,091
                       5       6       6       9       0       4       5
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a 855,444 married veterans using VA centers in 1991. 

   Figure II.3:  Income Ranges for
   Married Veterans Using VA
   Medical Centers, by Veteran and
   Spouse (1991)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Note:  Married Veterans = 855,444

   Figure II.4:  Income Ranges of
   Veterans Using VA Medical
   Centers, by Marital Status
   (1991)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

FAMILY INCOME STATUS OF MARRIED
VETERANS USING VA MEDICAL CENTERS
========================================================= Appendix III

This appendix contains information on the income levels of the
855,444 married veterans who used VA medical centers in 1991.  It
shows the percentage of veterans with incomes within different dollar
ranges and the percentage of married veterans' family incomes
attributable to veterans, by family income ranges. 

The income status of married veterans increased dramatically when
combined with their spouses' incomes into a family income.  About 10
percent of veterans had family incomes under $10,000 compared with 29
percent of married veterans who had individual incomes below that
amount (see fig.  III.1).  In contrast, 37 percent of veterans had
family incomes of $30,000 or more compared with less than 20 percent
of married veterans with personal incomes above these levels. 

Veterans' income accounted for the majority of the income for married
couples (see tables III.1 and III.2).  About two-thirds of the
veterans had over 60 percent of the family income.  By comparison,
about one-fifth of the spouses had over 60 percent of the family
income. 

   Figure III.1:  Income Ranges
   for Veterans Using VA Medical
   Centers, by Veteran Income Only
   and by Family Income (1991)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

                         Table III.1
           
             Percent of Married Veterans' Family
             Income Attributable to Veterans, by
                     Income Range (1991)

                              $10,00  $20,00  $30,00
                       Under      0-      0-      0-  $40,00
Percent of family     $10,00  $19,99  $29,99  $39,99    0 or
income, by veteran         0       9       9       9    more
--------------------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------
20 or less                24       9       6       6       6
21 to 40                   5       9      13      12      11
41 to 60                   7      16      18      20      22
61 to 80                  11      24      24      23      26
81 or more                53      43      40      39      36
============================================================
Total\b                  100     100     100     100     100
Veterans              89,917  216,33  227,79  138,85  182,54
                                   1       4       9       3
------------------------------------------------------------
\a 855,444 married veterans. 

\b Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding. 

                         Table III.2
           
             Percent of Married Veterans' Family
             Income Attributable to Veterans, by
                     Income Range (1991)

                              $10,00  $20,00  $30,00
                       Under      0-      0-      0-  $40,00
Percent of family     $10,00  $19,99  $29,99  $39,99    0 or
income, by veteran         0       9       9       9    more
--------------------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------
10 or less                22       7       3       3       2
11 to 20                   3       2       2       3       3
21 to 30                   2       3       5       5       4
31 to 40                   2       6       8       7       6
41 to 50                   3       8       8       9       9
51 to 60                   4       8       9      11      13
61 to 70                   6      10      11      11      14
71 to 80                   6      14      13      12      13
81 to 90                   6      10      17      16      12
91 or more                48      32      23      24      24
============================================================
Total\b                  100     100     100     100     100
Veterans              89,917  216,33  227,79  138,85  182,54
                                   1       4       9       3
------------------------------------------------------------
\a 855,444 married veterans. 

\b Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding. 

INCOME STATUS OF MARRIED VETERANS
BY DISABILITY RATING
========================================================== Appendix IV

This appendix provides information on the income levels of the
456,135 married service-connected veterans who used VA medical
centers in 1991.  It shows the percentage of veterans with incomes
within specified dollar ranges and compares their incomes with those
of the 399,309 married nonservice-connected veterans.  For the
service-connected veterans, it also compares the income levels of
veterans reported in VA's patient treatment file to have disability
ratings of 0, 10 to 40, and 50 percent or more.  These ratings are
intended to represent an average earning loss a veteran would
experience in a civilian occupation because of the disability. 

   INCOME SOURCES FOR MARRIED
   VETERANS, BY DISABILITY RATING
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:1

In general, over 70 percent of the service-connected veterans had
retirement income and interest and dividends compared with about 60
percent of the nonservice-connected veterans.  The percentages of
veterans and spouses with employee compensation did not vary by
disability status (see figs.  IV.1 and IV.2).  Married
service-connected veterans and spouses generally had greater incomes
by source than nonservice-connected veterans and spouses (see figs
IV.3 and IV.4). 

   Figure IV.1:  Income Sources
   for Married Veterans Using VA
   Medical Centers, by Disability
   Status (1991)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Note:  SC=service-connected; NSC=nonservice-connected. 

   Figure IV.2:  Income Sources
   for Spouses of Married Veterans
   Using VA Medical Centers, by
   Veterans' Disability Status
   (1991)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Note:  SC=service-connected; NSC=nonservice-connected. 

   Figure IV.3:  Income Sources of
   Married Veterans Using VA
   Medical Centers, by Veterans'
   Disability Status (1991)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Note:  SC=service-connected; NSC=nonservice-connected. 

   Figure IV.4:  Income Sources of
   Spouses of Married Veterans
   Using VA Medical Centers, by
   Veterans' Disability Status
   (1991)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Note:  SC=service-connected; NSC=nonservice-connected. 

   INCOME RANGES FOR MARRIED
   VETERANS, BY DISABILITY RATING
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:2

In general, service-connected and nonservice-connected veterans
generally received higher levels of employee compensation and
retirement income than their spouses.  Also, spouses of
service-connected veterans tended to have higher levels of employee
compensation than the spouses of nonservice-connected veterans with
comparable levels of other types of income (see tables IV.1 and
IV.2). 

Married veterans with service-connected disabilities generally had
higher incomes than married veterans without such disabilities.  Of
the 456,135 service-connected veterans, about 24 percent had incomes
less than $10,000 compared with 35 percent of the
nonservice-connected veterans.  By contrast, 25 percent of the
service-connected veterans had incomes of $30,000 or more compared
with 12 percent of the nonservice-connected veterans (see fig. 
IV.5).  However, the incomes for spouses of service-connected
veterans did not vary greatly from the incomes of
nonservice-connected veterans' spouses (see fig.  IV.6). 

Of the 456,135 married service-connected veterans, those with
disability ratings between 10 percent and 40 percent had higher
incomes than veterans in the 0 percent or 50 percent or more groups
(see table IV.3).  However, the incomes of the spouses of
service-connected veterans did not vary greatly by disability rating
class. 

                                    Table IV.1
                     
                       Income Sources for Married Veterans
                     Using VA Medical Centers, by Disability
                           Status, Veterans Only (1991)

Range by source       SC     NSC      SC     NSC      SC     NSC      SC     NSC
----------------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------
Under $10,000         33      44      41      51      90      94      81      79
$10,000 to            23      28      40      38       7       4      10      11
 $19,999
$20,000 to            20      16      12       8       2       1       4       4
 $29,999
$30,000 to            15       7       4       2       1       0       2       2
 $39,999
$40,000 or more        8       4       3       1       1       0       4       4
================================================================================
Total\b              100     100     100     100     100     100     100     100
Veterans          208,52  191,97  322,34  238,48  344,78  243,41  50,841  51,564
                       4       1       9       7       8       2
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a 855,444 married veterans using VA centers in 1991. 

\b Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding. 

Note:  SC=service-connected; NSC=nonservice-connected. 

                                    Table IV.2
                     
                       Income Sources for Married Veterans
                     Using VA Medical Centers, by Disability
                            Status, Spouse Only (1991)

Range by source       SC     NSC      SC     NSC      SC     NSC      SC     NSC
----------------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------
Under $10,000         45      53      86      87      96      97      86      86
$10,000 to            32      31      11      10       3       2       7       8
 $19,999
$20,000 to            15      11       2       2       1       1       3       3
 $29,999
$30,000 to             6       4       1       1       0       0       1       1
 $39,999
$40,000 or more        3       2       1       1       0       0       2       2
================================================================================
Total\b              100     100     100    100\     100     100    100\     100
Veterans          213,01  195,78  189,67  146,89  244,12  184,94  24,627  23,464
                       5       1       2       7       3       1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a 855,444 married veterans using VA centers in 1991. 

\b Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding. 

Note:  SC=service-connected; NSC=nonservice-connected. 

   Figure IV.5:  Income Ranges for
   Married Veterans Using VA
   Medical Centers, by Disability
   Status (1991)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Note:  SC=service-connected; NSC=nonservice-connected. 

   Figure IV.6:  Income Ranges for
   Spouses of Married Veterans
   Using VA Medical Centers, by
   Disability Status (1991)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Notes:  Married nonservice-connected veterans = 399,309.
SC=service-connected; NSC=nonservice-connected. 

                                    Table IV.3
                     
                        Income Ranges of Married Disabled
                      Veterans and Spouses Using VA Medical
                         Centers, by Rating Class (1991)

                                  Vetera          Vetera          Vetera
Income                                 n  Spouse       n  Spouse       n  Spouse
--------------------------------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------
Under $10,000                         24      63      19      63      32      61
$10,000 to $19,999                    32      22      29      22      31      23
$20,000 to $29,999                    21       9      23       9      18      10
$30,000 to $39,999                    11       4      15       4      10       4
40,000 or more                        11       2      14       2       9       3
================================================================================
Total\b                              100     100     100     100     100     100
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\a Of the 456,135 married disabled veterans using VA medical centers
in 1991, 68,958 (or 15.1 percent) had ratings of 0 percent; 258,826
(or 56.7 percent) had ratings of 10 to 40 percent; and 128,351 (or
28.1 percent) had ratings of 50 percent or more. 

\b Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding. 

   FAMILY INCOME STATUS FOR
   MARRIED VETERANS, BY DISABILITY
   RATING
-------------------------------------------------------- Appendix IV:3

In general, the relationship between family incomes and those of
service-connected and nonservice-connected veterans did not vary
greatly.  That is, about two-thirds of the service-connected veterans
accounted for over 60 percent of their family incomes compared with a
slightly lower percentage of nonservice-connected veterans' family
incomes (see tables IV.4 and IV.5).  However, service-connected
veterans generally accounted for larger percentages of family income
in the higher income ranges than did nonservice-connected veterans. 

                          Table IV.4
           
             Percent of Married Service-Connected
           Veterans' Family Income Attributable to
               Veterans, by Income Range (1991)

                              $10,00  $20,00  $30,00
                       Under      0-      0-      0-  $40,00
Percent of family     $10,00  $19,99  $29,99  $39,99    0 or
income, by veteran         0       9       9       9    more
--------------------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------
20 or less                24       9       5       5       4
21 to 40                   5       8      12      11       9
41 to 60                   7      15      16      18      21
61 to 80                  12      24      24      23      28
81 or more                53      44      43      43      38
============================================================
Total\b                  100     100     100     100     100
Veterans              34,654  96,080  117,79  83,779  123,82
                                           8               4
------------------------------------------------------------
\a 456,135 married service-connected veterans. 

\b Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding. 

                          Table IV.5
           
           Percent of Married Nonservice-Connected
           Veterans' Family Income Attributable to
               Veterans, by Income Range (1991)

                              $10,00  $20,00  $30,00
                       Under      0-      0-      0-  $40,00
Percent of family     $10,00  $19,99  $29,99  $39,99    0 or
income, by veteran         0       9       9       9    more
--------------------  ------  ------  ------  ------  ------
20 or less                25       9       6       7       8
21 to 40                   5       9      14      14      13
41 to 60                   6      16      19      22      23
61 to 80                  11      24      25      24      24
81 or more                53      42      37      34      32
============================================================
Total\b                  100     100     100     100     100
Veterans              55,263  120,25  109,99  55,080  58,719
                                   1       6
------------------------------------------------------------
\a 399,309 married nonservice-connected veterans. 

\b Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding. 

EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF VETERANS
USING VA MEDICAL CENTERS
=========================================================== Appendix V

This appendix contains information on the income levels of the 2.2
million veterans who used VA medical centers in 1991, based on their
employment status and disability rating.  Employment status includes
employed veterans (those receiving employee compensation or
self-employment income); retired veterans (those receiving pension or
retirement income but no employee compensation or self-employment
income); and unemployed veterans who have no pension or retirement
income, employee compensation, or income from sources such as
self-employment income, which we did not consider in our March 1994
report.\3 This appendix also shows the percentage of veterans who
were employed, self-employed, or both, by disability status.  It also
compares service-connected veterans' employment status by disability
rating class. 

In our March 1994 report, we defined employment status as including
employed veterans (those receiving employee compensation); retired
veterans (those receiving pension or retirement income but no
employee compensation); and other veterans who had no pension or
retirement income or employee compensation, but who may have had
income from sources not included in our analysis, such as
self-employment income.  Appendix IX of our earlier report showed the
total dollars of employee compensation for veterans and their spouses
and the percentage of veterans (and spouses) that had incomes within
different dollar ranges.  It also compared income levels for veterans
in the three groups by disability rating and marital status. 

Our March 1994 report also showed that about 40 percent of the 2.2
million veterans were employed and that they accounted for about 50
percent of the total income of this group (see fig.  V.1).  Of the
employed veterans, 3 percent also had self-employment income.  In
addition, another 5 percent had only self-employment income.  The
percentages of self-employed veterans were fairly evenly distributed
among the employed, retired, and other veteran categories (see fig. 
V.2). 

Our analysis showed that over 8 percent of the 2.2 million veterans
had self-employment income (see table V.1).  Over one-third of these
veterans also had employee compensation, while the rest had only
self-employment income. 

   Figure V.1:  Employment Status
   of Veterans Using VA Medical
   Centers (1991)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

   Figure V.2:  Self-Employment
   Status of Veterans Using VA
   Medical Centers (1991)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Note:  Total veterans = 2.2 million. 

                          Table V.1
           
            Employment Status of Veterans Using VA
                    Medical Centers (1991)

                                                     Percent
                                                      of all
                                                    veterans
Employment status                                         \a
--------------------------------------------------  --------
Employed                                                  37
Self-employed                                              3
Employed and self-employed                                 5
Retired                                                   42
Unemployed                                                13
============================================================
Total                                                    100
------------------------------------------------------------
\a 2.2 million veterans using VA medical centers in 1991. 

--------------------
\3 VA Health Care (GAO/HEHS-94-113FS, Mar.  29, 1994). 

   EMPLOYMENT STATUS FOR VETERANS,
   BY DISABILITY RATING
--------------------------------------------------------- Appendix V:1

In general, the percentages of self-employed veterans by employment
status did not vary greatly between service-connected and
nonservice-connected veterans (see fig.  V.3).  The percentages of
service-connected and nonservice-connected veterans who were
self-employed were roughly equal (see table V.2).  Of the almost 1
million service-connected veterans, more veterans in the 10 percent
to 40 percent groups were self-employed, whereas a greater percentage
of the veterans with disability ratings of 50 percent or more were
either retired or unemployed than those in the other groups (see
table V.3). 

   Figure V.3:  Self-Employment
   Status of Veterans Using VA
   Medical Centers, by Disability
   Status (1991)

   (See figure in printed
   edition.)

Notes:  Total veterans = 2.2 million.
Service-connected veterans = 964,400; nonservice-connected veterans =
1.2 million. 

                          Table V.2
           
            Employment Status of Veterans Using VA
            Medical Centers, by Disability Status
                            (1991)

                                  Service-       Nonservice-
Employment status                connected         connected
--------------------------  --------------  ----------------
Employed                                35                38
Self-employed                            5                 5
Employed and self-                       4                 3
 employed
Retired                                 46                39
Unemployed                              10                15
============================================================
Total                                  100               100
------------------------------------------------------------
\a Of the 2.2 million veterans using VA medical centers in 1991,
964,400 were service-connected and 1.2 million were
nonservice-connected. 

                          Table V.3
           
           Employment and Self-Employment Status of
            Veterans Using VA Medical Centers, by
                     Rating Class (1991)

                                               10 to   50 or
Employment status                          0      40    more
------------------------------------  ------  ------  ------
Employed                                  36      42      22
Self-employed                              5       6       4
Employed and self-employed                 4       4       2
Retired                                   44      40      59
Unemployed                                11       8      14
============================================================
Total\b                                  100     100     100
------------------------------------------------------------
\a Of the disabled veterans using VA facilities in 1991, about
170,000 had ratings of 0 percent; about 500,000 had ratings of 10-40
percent; and 300,000 had ratings of 50 percent or more. 

\b Percentages may not add to 100 due to rounding.
```