Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius this afternoon invited herself -- sort of -- to speak at the health insurers' Washington conference now underway.

America's Health Insurance Plans invited Sebelius several months ago to address its members at the conference but she had declined, citing a schedule conflict. Today, Sebelius wrote to AHIP President Karen Ignagni that she could speak at 10:30 tomorrow.

AHIP spokesman Robert Zirkelbach said the group was caught totally off guard by the request, but was delighted and would soon accept. Indeed, he said, an official from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now scheduled in that time slot, so it probably won't be a problem for the big boss to step in.

The timing is interesting since Sebelius has consistently -- and with force -- hammered the insurance industry in recent weeks for proposed hikes in premiums and has expressed concern about profits at the same time. When asked whether Sebelius would speak about the rate increases, a spokesman said, "Stay tuned."

Zirkelbach said that AHIP likely will hold a news briefing after Sebelius' remarks.