Aaaaand it's price control time!

Really, is anybody surprised? Of course, the White House won't come out and say that the government is imposing price controls on the health insurance industry. But now that insurers are responding to all the extra benefits they need to cover (not to mention all the sick people who'll be buying "insurance" for chronic conditions -- particularly the ones who, now that the individual mandate is in trouble, are going to wait until they have an acute problem to purchase their policies) by raising prices, Obama and Sebelius are stomping their feet, crying "Boo, hiss, reality!" and telling insurers they're going to have to present justification for any rate increases of more than 10%. It's not a very long step from there from the government ordering insurers not to sell any policies at prices it deems "unreasonable."

"Karen M. Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans, a trade group, said that in their zeal to review premiums, 'the administration and Congress have largely ignored factors driving up the cost of coverage.'"

I don't feel sorry for the beating Ignagni and her ilk are taking. AHIP got behind ObamaCare when the President was trying to garner support for the bill; AHIP was hoping that it could grab a huge share of loot by forcing Americans to buy coverage they don't want or can't afford. But now the scheme is blowing up in the industry's face. Big shocker: when the nanny state giveth, the nanny state decideth how much things should cost.