HHS's Sebelius Flip Flops on Remarks

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius did her best today to confuse the debate on whether the White House is pushing for a government-run health insurance plan.

At a Washington appearance, Sebelius took the low road and blamed the media for taking her comments and running with them, saying Sunday must have been a "very slow news day." What she's referring to is the firestorm she set off by telling TV talk shows that President Obama would accept a health care reform plan that didn't include a government-run health insurance program.

That's good news for insurance companies who oppose a government plan that would compete with them. Stocks of Aetna Inc., Cigna Corp., Humana Inc., UnitedHealth Group Inc. and WellPoint Inc. all rallied yesterday while the broader market fell. The health companies' shares were down slightly today in afternoon trading.

Today Sebelius told a D.C. crowd that "absolutely nothing has changed" in the president's view. The White House made similar statements over the past 24 hours to calm outraged liberals in the House who say they're pressing forward with a government-run health program.

Of course all of this is ridiculous. The White House knew what it was doing by signaling to the GOP, industry groups and even conservative Democrats that the public plan idea wasn't a deal killer and could be dropped. Senate Democrats were backing away from the idea after getting mugged by angry voters at town hall meetings.

The White House's damage control over the past day is targeted at soothing the blistered egos of the liberal Democrats in the House. Unfortunately for the president, he can't have it both ways.