Winston-Salem Journal

The state auditor made the right decision when she canceled North Carolina’s contract with economics professor Jonathan Gruber. There’s no way his input could be effective now.

Auditor Beth Wood took the action, the McClatchy Tribune news service reported.

Wood’s office hired Gruber a year ago to help audit the state’s Medicaid program that provides managed care for the poor and disabled. Wood, a well-regarded and effective Democrat, ran the idea by Republican legislators in the General Assembly, according to a timeline provided by her office.

At the time, Gruber was known for helping create the Affordable Care Act and its predecessor in Massachusetts under then-Gov. Mitt Romney.

But America saw a different side of Gruber when injudicious comments he made about the Affordable Care Act and voters came to light earlier this month — including this gem from a conference in Pennsylvania: “Lack of transparency is a huge political advantage. Call it the stupidity of the American voter or whatever, but basically, that was really, really critical to getting the thing to pass.”

Those statements changed everything. They led to a mad scramble away from him by politicians and increased criticism of the passing of the ACA, already a hard-sell in many circles.

Gruber was quick to apologize, explaining that he’d been speaking “off the cuff” at an academic conference. But it quickly developed that he’d made similarly stupid comments at other times.

It’s hard to imagine anyone trusting his input on Medicaid reform now. No matter how one interprets — or forgives — his statements, they were inflammatory and cost him the trust of much of the population.

The state audit of the Medicaid program is required by the General Assembly’s July 2013 budget. We do need the audit, but it must come through legitimate, trustworthy means. The state does well to avoid controversial figures who stir the pot.

Gruber will be paid about $100,000 for work he’s already done. It’s too bad we can’t get a refund — along with the money our federal government paid him as a consultant.