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Birth Rights

Investigating Florida’s NICA Program

The NICA program was intended to reduce doctors’ malpractice bills and provide a dignified existence and financial cushion for families crushed by the delivery of an infant with devastating brain damage. But some parents report a program that’s both indifferent to their fears and hostile to their needs.

Impact of Our Reporting
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Birth Rights

A Florida Fund for Injured Kids Raided Medicaid. Now It’s Repaying $51 Million.

“The Medicaid program provides a safety net for our most vulnerable populations that do not have access to traditional healthcare coverage,” U.S. Attorney Juan Antonio Gonzalez said. “The misuse of Medicaid funds will not be tolerated.”

Local Reporting Network

Birth Rights

Lawmakers Approve Payments to Parents of Children Who Died of Catastrophic Brain Injuries

A year after reforming a program for children who suffered devastating brain injuries at birth, Florida lawmakers voted to extend help to families whose children died.

Local Reporting Network

Birth Rights

At Last, Florida Families Hit Hard by Their Children’s Birth Injuries Are Promised More Help

The chairman of Florida’s NICA board gave parents of children born with brain injuries the message some of them waited decades to hear: “You have been heard.”

Local Reporting Network

Birth Rights

Florida Program to Aid Brain-Damaged Kids Often Told Families No. It’s Promising to Change.

The program promised support while taking away parents’ right to seek justice. Instead, NICA often forced parents to go through the state’s Medicaid safety net first — including appeals. Now, a proposed set of rules could change the approach.

Local Reporting Network

Birth Rights

After 33 Years, Parents of Brain-Damaged Kids Get to Express Disgust With Florida Program

Our reporting prompted changes in state law, and on Wednesday, the program’s executive director resigned. Parents had harsh words about the way they and their children have been treated.

Local Reporting Network

Birth Rights

The Director of Florida’s Program for Brain Damaged Infants Has Resigned

The head of NICA, or the Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association, resigned following a report from ProPublica and the Miami Herald detailing families’ struggles as they sought — and were often denied — support they’d been promised.

Local Reporting Network

Birth Rights

Audit Confirms That a Program for Brain-Damaged Kids Arbitrarily Denied Claims and Overspent on Perks

A new report validates many of the findings of an investigation published by the Miami Herald and ProPublica about Florida’s Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association, or NICA.

Local Reporting Network

Birth Rights

Florida Governor Signs Law Reforming Program for Brain-Damaged Infants

Parents who participate in the Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association, or NICA, receive a pledge from lawmakers that they will no longer have to fight for “medically necessary” expenses the program has claimed to cover all along.

Local Reporting Network

Birth Rights

Florida Program to Aid Brain-Damaged Infants Publicly Embraces Reforms It Once Fought

While the executive director of the Florida program has sent a letter to families saying they will get more benefits and “services you have long deserved,” some parents ask why NICA waited until lawmakers insisted before embracing reform.

Local Reporting Network

Birth Rights

Florida Lawmakers Send Lifeline to Families With Brain-Damaged Children

After a series of investigative articles by the Miami Herald and ProPublica, the Florida Legislature passed a host of reforms to a state-run program for children born with catastrophic brain injuries.

Local Reporting Network

Birth Rights

Florida Lawmakers Endorse Wide-Ranging Reforms in Program to Aid Brain-Damaged Babies

Bills in the Florida House and Senate would increase benefits for families of brain-damaged babies, add parental representation to the program’s board and create an ombudsman, following investigative stories by the Miami Herald and ProPublica.

Local Reporting Network

Birth Rights

Florida Plans Audit of Program That Blocks Parents of Brain-Damaged Newborns From Suing

Officials called for reforms hours after an investigation by the Miami Herald and ProPublica identified gaps in a Florida program that strips families of their right to sue when births go horribly wrong.

Local Reporting Network

9 stories published since 2021

Accused of Refusing Aid to Disabled Kids, a State Agency Responded — by Hiring a PR Firm

“These Findings Boggle My Mind”: Audit Rips Apart Florida Program Created to Aid Brain-Damaged Kids

Future of Program for Brain-Damaged Children Now Rests With Powerful Florida Official

To Get a Shot at Justice, They Were Forced to Prove Their Disabled Daughter’s Intelligence

A Program Promised to Pay for Brain-Damaged Infants’ Care. Then It Sent Families to Medicaid Instead.

Parents Want Justice for Birth Injuries. Hospitals Want to Strip Them of the Right to Make That Decision.

“We Are Not Here or Funded to ‘Promote the Best Interest’ of the Children,” Wrote the Head of a Program for Brain-Damaged Infants

She Can’t Sue Her Doctor Over Her Baby’s Death. When She Spoke Out, She Was Silenced Again.

When Births Go Horribly Wrong, Florida Protects Doctors and Forces Families to Pay the Price

What We’re Watching

During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.

Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.

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Sharon Lerner

I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Andy Kroll

I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.

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Melissa Sanchez

I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

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Jesse Coburn

I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.

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