Published February 11, 2015

Feb. 11, 2015: Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington.

Veterans' health care is a "high risk" budget issue that threatens to cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars unless longstanding problems are addressed, government auditors warned Wednesday.

The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office said health care costs at the Department of Veterans Affairs have nearly tripled since 2002 -- to more than $59 billion a year -- as a result of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and the aging of Vietnam-era veterans.

Costs are likely to continue to rise as the VA responds to "serious and longstanding problems with veterans' access to care," the GAO said.

The report praised a new law overhauling the VA in the wake of a scandal over long wait times for veterans seeking care. But it said officials must ensure that veterans obtain needed care, whether from the VA or from outside providers authorized under the 2014 law.

"While timely and cost-effective access to needed health care services is essential, it also is imperative that VA ensures the quality and safety of the services it provides," the report said.

The GAO report, issued every other year, identified 32 "high risk" areas that could cause significant budget problems due to waste, fraud, mismanagement or structural flaws. The list includes Medicare and Medicaid, as well as a host of Pentagon and nuclear security programs and the national flood insurance program, among others.

In 2013, the GAO added climate change to the high-risk list.

The GAO report is the latest in a series of reports and investigations highlighting problems at the VA, which has been under intense scrutiny since a whistleblower reported last year that dozens of veterans died while awaiting treatment at the Phoenix VA hospital, and that appointment records were manipulated to hide the delays.

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GAO: Vets' health care costs a 'high risk' for taxpayers