More fun with government healthcare

Read this story. In sum, the VA sort of, well, basically just overlooked the fact that the endoscopes they were using were not being sterilized. So, people were getting colonoscopies, as well as having procedures in their noses and throats with unsterilized endoscopes.

The RC does not wish to be indelicate, but this means that people were getting colonoscopies and nose and throat procedures with the same endoscopes that had been in other people's colons, noses, and throats. And they hadn't been sterilized.

But the VA is really sorry about it.

Some of these people may now have HIV and Hepatitis because of this.

This shows two reasons why none of us should want the government involved in our healthcare.

First of all is the fact that large government operations like the VA just do a bad job. They are inefficient and sloppy--so they overlook tiny details like sterilizing this kind of equipment.

But beyond that, when mistakes happen, there is very little recourse.

Set aside the tiny odds that this would have happened at a private facility and imagine that it did. If this had happened at a private hospital or doctor's office, the victims of such mind-numbing idiocy could sue for damages and at least live a reasonably comfortable life based on the proceeds.

But now they get nothing. The leaders of the VA got a tongue lashing at a Congressional hearing, but if you have HIV I'm thinking that is fairly cold comfort.