Gov. Charlie Crist is traveling Florida selling his proposal to, in the words of one press account, "use the state's bargaining clout to negotiate low-cost plans with insurers."

Insurers may be heading towards a Faustian bargain if they guy into this. Expect the state government to squeeze margins in the years ahead, as officials do everything to "do something" by adding to the number of people in the program. People who sign up, by the way, could be subject to de facto rationing.

Read the comments attached to the story and you'll detect the problem with health care today: the belief that "someone else" is paying for insurance, rather than workers themselves through reduced wages or fewer economic opportunities.