We are shocked – <em>shocked</em> – to find that ObamaCare will cost more money!

Somebody explain to me what I’m missing.

First, some insurance industry guys commission a study on ObamaCare and/or its various and sundry forms, existing and/or non-existing. Second, the study says ObamaCare will increase costs. Third, everybody acts surprised.

What? Surprised? Hello? Government estimates of almost a trillion dollars – and you know what government estimates are worth once the ink on the bill is dry. That’s increased costs. ObamaCare will mean significant increases in demand for health care services. That right there is going to mean higher costs. The surprise would be if it didn’t increase costs.

But, there you have it. Gasp!

And that’s only one aspect of this story that doesn’t make sense. The Left is going apoplectic over it. They think the insurance guys specifically asked for, paid for, and got a study that will undermine ObamaCare.

For example:

Linda Douglass, spokeswoman with the Office of Health Reform, said in a statement that the timing of the study, released just hours before the Senate Finance Committee is set to vote on its bill, raises questions about its legitimacy.

“This is a self-serving analysis from the insurance industry, one of the major opponents of health insurance reform,” she said. “It comes on the eve of a vote that will reduce the industry’s profits. It is hard to take it seriously.”

Okay, but wait a minute. Now read this, from the Washington Post story:

At the heart of the argument is whether the Finance Committee bill does enough to draw young, healthy people into the insurance risk pool. By postponing and reducing penalties on people who do not sign up for health insurance, industry analysts predict it would attract less-healthy patients who would drive up costs.

“Market reform enacted in the absence of universal coverage will increase costs dramatically for many who are currently insured by creating a powerful incentive for people to wait until they are sick to purchase coverage,” the authors of the report wrote.

Doesn’t that sound like they’re advocating for “universal” health care?

Via Memeorandum