After over 35 years as a businessman, I have learned – the hard way – that at times, with the best of intentions, you wake up one morning to find you’ve gotten yourself into a new business that doesn’t work. It looked like a good idea when you started, but, after you rolled up your sleeves and went to work, you found out it either wasn’t what you expected, was beyond your ability or expertise, or was just a bad idea.

That’s called a ‘learning experience’ – and that’s what came to mind when I read the Observer report that “A state audit of the $13 billion Medicaid budget revealed a rat’s nest of problems from overspending, bloated administrative costs and violations of the law.”

State Auditor Beth Wood – a Democrat – was equally blunt. In her audit, Wood reported the Medicaid Department has spent $1.4 billion more than its budget over the last three years and its overhead costs are $180,000 higher per year than other states our size.

In other words, after 12 years of mismanagement and neglect by two Democratic Governors (Mike Easley and Beverly Perdue), we have a multi-billion dollar train wreck on our hands – that should give even the staunchest believer in more government a moment’s pause.

And now, to complicate the problem further, the Obama Administration would like the state to expand Medicaid by 31%.

But does that make common sense – to expand a program that has turned out to be the poster child for government mismanagement by billions of dollars?

Here’s what does make sense: Fix what’s broke first. Give newly elected Governor McCrory time to fix a dysfunctional Medicaid Department and create a new system that works for both the recipients and the taxpayers. Then, after the problems are fixed, we can argue over whether we should expand Medicaid 31%.

Observer Article: Audit – State overspent Medicaid budget by $1.4B