NICA used google, not medical experts, to determine aid for damaged children

[butters]

“NICA stated the case managers and the case manager supervisor often use Google to research and determine medical necessity," the report said. When medical necessity is still in dispute, the report said, judgment ultimately rests with “the executive director, who makes determinations regarding medical necessity regardless of the fact that she has no medical training or credentials."

Days after the Herald and ProPublica series published, the Legislature unanimously passed a sweeping reform of the 33-year-old program. It promised $150,000 in immediate cash assistance to every NICA family, up to $10,000 in annual mental health coverage, and $100,000 for handicapped-accessible home renovations for each family currently enrolled. The law also set aside $40,000 in additional death benefits for parents whose children died, ending their enrollment in NICA, retroactive to the program's inception.

The legislation directly addressed the concerns of lawmakers, and Patronis, that NICA appeared to view parents as an inconvenience to its main mission of protecting doctors and insurers: For the first time in the program's history, Florida law explicitly requires that the program be administered “in a manner that promotes and protects the health and best interest of children with birth-related neurological injuries."

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the legislation into law in June.

however, and it's fantastic that this mess was finally addressed, the version of the bill that passed was a watered down one, omitting the need for NICA to hire an ombudsman 'to advocate for parents unhappy with their treatment'; it was removed because of lobbyists for the program and insurance industry and despite the explicit recommendation by the Office of Insurance Regulation that such an advocate BE appointed.

https://www.alternet.org/2021/10/fl...Id=1&cx_testVariant=cx_1&cx_artPos=3#cxrecs_s