Over 11,000 veterans who received routine colonoscopies at three VA health centers are being warned to get blood tests for HIV, hepatitis, and other malignant viral infections in the wake of revelations that government-employed clinic staffers frequently neglected to sterilize the equipment between procedures.

Patients at the Veterans Affairs health centers in question — 3,260 in Miami (FL), 1,800 in Augusta (GA), and 6,400 in Murfreesboro (TN) — may have been exposed to “potentially infectious fluids,” according to the VA.

The fact that this is due to negligence on the part of the government-employed hospital staff is bad enough on its own, of course — but it gets worse, as some of those may have been infected with HIV or hepatitis as many as six years ago, and are just now being alerted about their possible infection and encouraged to get tested. (Thankfully for these folks, some Members of Congress who were concerned about their electoral viability in 2010 managed to talk President Obama out of charging them for the follow-up tests and treatment made necessary by gross negligence on the part of government-employed health care workers.)

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At a meeting with veterans’ groups on Capitol Hill, Speaker Pelosi (D-CA) said:

President Obama listened to the genuine concerns expressed by the veteran service organizations regarding the option of billing service-connected injuries to veterans’ insurance companies

Based on the respect President Obama has for veterans and the principle concerns of our veteran leaders, the president made the decision that combat wounds should not be billed through their insurance policies.

Of course, if President Obama really had all that “respect…for veterans” and for “the principle concerns of our veteran leaders,” wouldn’t he have realized (or had one of those “veteran leaders” tell him) what an outrageously boneheaded idea charging veterans for treatment of wounds suffered in combat was?

I mean, seriously — just say that out loud: “We’re going to try to make $500 million for the government by charging combat wounded for their treatment.” Okay, now think about what you just said — if you even need to. Yep — ridickeless stupid, isn’t it?

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There’s been quite the flareup over the disastrous Shineski comments on potential changes in veteran policy, and the Democrats in Congress have wasted no time in distancing themselves from the administration on this one. As just one example, we have Senator James Webb*. When contacted regarding the recent CNN article indicating the possibility of a “controversial plan to make veterans pay for treatment of service-related injuries with private insurance,” Webb’s office provided this response from the Senator: “Treatment for service-connected injuries is clearly within the responsibility of the U.S. government through the Department of Veterans Affairs—period.” This statement to RedState is a duplicate of the statement also made to the Huffington Post; the story there also mentions a letter being put together by House Democrats opposing any such change.  Very, very, loudly, and to anyone who will listen.

It’s become increasingly obvious that the administration’s tin ear when it comes to dealing with groups not inclined to be forgiving about it remains in full force.   They haven’t gotten any faster at correcting their mistakes, either: Obama’s profoundly unsuccessful meeting with American Legion President David Rehbein should have been resolved yesterday, not tomorrow. Assuming that it will be: it’s possible that Obama will try an I-won and a flash of the charisma that he does not, in point of fact, actually have.

No, really.  Bill Clinton would have had Rehbein walking out of there all smiles in the first place.  For that matter, so would have George W Bush; but then, Bush had the advantage of being a Republican.

Moe Lane

*I’ve also contacted Senator Patty Murray’s office, but they haven’t gotten back to me yet.

Crossposted to Moe Lane.