What a pickle we're in now. Even HHS Secretary Sebelius said Saturday that providing citizens with the option of government-run insurance isn't essential to the Obama adminstration's proposed overhaul of U.S. health care. Obama is directing the charge at health insurance reform. Health CARE reform requires costs containment, but health insurance reform mostly requires mandates which increase the flow of money to the providers. Obama has to make people not fear cost containment, and in his editorial he says don't worry we'll do it by cutting waste and fraud.

People would redirect their own energies to cost containment if they felt the costs, which they don't with employer mandates and low deductible policies, both of which are centerpieces of the proposals.

Health insurance is different than other insurance. It is basically a payment facilitating mechanism with cost sharing.

If abandonment of the 8% solution is about to happen, that's a powerful tool for cost containment lost.