Let’s hope that it’s just a trial balloon and that the Obama administration can see that it barely got off the floor before being shot down.

“It’s a betrayal,” said Joe Violante, legislative director of Disabled American Veterans. “Dead on arrival,” said U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash.

What is this unpopular proposal?

Tucked away in Obama’s 2010 budget is a line about “third-party collections” that turns out to be a plan to bill the private insurance of veterans for the treatment of service-related injuries and ailments. This is a reversal of longstanding policy, under which the government covers all service-related health issues, and a broken promise to the men and women who signed up for duty with that in mind.

The veterans held up their end of the bargain. Billing their insurance would cause their rates to rise and could max out benefits for them and their families. If veterans are in group insurance, it would cause rates for everyone to increase. Such a proposal could also give employers second thoughts about hiring veterans.

It’s a cost-shifting maneuver that is indefensible. Violante put it best: “My insurance company didn’t send me to Vietnam. My government did. The same holds true for men and women now fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. It’s the government’s responsibility.”

The controversy is clouding what is an otherwise good budget for veterans, as the federal government tries to improve care. Veterans groups are pleased with the extra $25 billion over five years, which could bring 500,000 eligible veterans into the VA health care system.

The administration said details will be released in April. The U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs quizzed VA Secretary Eric Shinseki last week, and he acknowledged that the idea under consideration but that a final decision had not been made. Eleven veterans groups, including the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, are lobbying against the measure. Some of them visited the White House on Monday but apparently weren’t able to kill the idea.

Murray, who sits on the veterans committee, is right when she says “the government should not be nickel-and-diming veterans for their care.”

No doubt, the federal government faces tough budget issues, but shedding some responsibility for veterans’ care is an unacceptable solution.