As more veterans enter the VA health system and disability claims become more complex, the agency will need more money to keep up, according to recent reports.

Average annual disability pay for veterans has risen significantly over the last few years, the Air Force Times reported February 15. Adjusted for inflation, annual payouts were roughly $8,927 per soldier in 2001. Now, that number is closer to $11,737. Veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan report an average of 8.5 disabilities, up nearly 50 percent compared with veterans of other conflicts, reported the Times.

The fiscal year 2013 budget proposed recently by President Barack Obama calls for a nearly 20 percent increase in funding for these types of veterans benefits. If passed, VA would have $61.7 billion to fund these disability claims, up from $51.2 billion in 2012. VA will also pledge more man hours to claims processing, hoping to clear some of its backlog and reduce the number of claims pending for more than 125 days by at least 40 percent over the coming years, according to the Times.

The proposed budget for VA in 2013 is roughly $140 billion. VA budgets have risen sharply in the last decade - the budget in 2000 was slightly more than $44 billion, or $57 billion adjusted for inflation. Before 2007, the largest VA budget request came in 1947 when, adjusted for inflation, funding topped $83 billion, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service.

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