Sometimes a broken government program is a blessing after all.

Gov. Steve Beshear came into office last year planning to extend the state's involvement in health care. It's already substantial. "About 30 percent of Kentuckians rely on government programs for health insurance, and 13 percent are uninsured," says the Lexington Herald-Leader.

If my math is correct, Gov. Beshear's ultimate goal would be to have 43 percent of Kentuckians dependent on the state government.

The state Medicaid program is already spending beyond the projections of the last governor. In this case, government failure may be a good thing: "Until the Medicaid mess is untangled, it's hard to see how people can be added to the program, lawmakers said."

One can hope that some more work by auditor Crit Luallen will find even more cost overruns. Perhaps that will delay a government takeover even longer.

Unfortunately, the state's two largest chambers of commerce are happy with an expansion, as long as a cigarette tax is used to pay for it. Gov. Beshear resists that move.

The commonwealth's legislature looks to make the market for insurance even worse. One bill would slap a slacker mandate on insurance companies by raising the age of a "dependent" to 26. Another bill would add yet another mandated benefit.

Meanwhile, the Bluegrass Institute for Public Policy Solutions notes that the Herald-Leader mentions not a single option for making insurance more affordable in the private market.