But now that the law is in the midst of a troubled implementation, Obama cannot unleash a full-scale attack on the insurance industry. If insurers decide to pull out of the new government-run health insurance exchanges, it would cripple the entire law.

Also, if the technology problems confronting the law aren’t resolved soon, one potential Plan B could involve relying on private insurers to help enroll Americans directly rather than through the government website.

It’s also important to keep in mind that the core purpose of Obama’s health care program is to get as many Americans covered as possible.

But it would undermine the administration’s public outreach effort to convince Americans to sign up for coverage if officials were constantly trashing private insurance.