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Families looking pensive at an edifice made of paperwork protecting doctors and lawyers talking to each other.
Health Care

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.

Featured Posts in this Series

Impact of Our Reporting

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

by Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald

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

by Carol Marbin Miller and Daniel Chang, Miami Herald

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

by Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald

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

by Carol Marbin Miller and Daniel Chang, Miami Herald

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

by Carol Marbin Miller and Daniel Chang, Miami Herald

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

by Carol Marbin Miller and Daniel Chang, Miami Herald

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

by Carol Marbin Miller and Daniel Chang, Miami Herald

Florida Governor Signs Law Reforming Program for Brain-Damaged Infants

by Carol Marbin Miller and Daniel Chang, Miami Herald

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

by Carol Marbin Miller and Daniel Chang, Miami Herald

Florida Lawmakers Send Lifeline to Families With Brain-Damaged Children

by Daniel Chang and Carol Marbin Miller, Miami Herald

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

by Carol Marbin Miller, Daniel Chang and Mary Ellen Klas, Miami Herald

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

by Carol Marbin Miller and Daniel Chang, Miami Herald

21 stories published since 2021