Law firm investigating Florida children’s insurance scandal

Report accuses health officials of removing sick children from a special program

Law firm investigating Florida children’s insurance scandal

Life & Health

By Ryan Smith

A law firm is investigating claims that an insurer engaged in securities fraud.

The investigation is being undertaken by the Pomerantz Law Firm on behalf of investors in UnitedHealth Group. The law firm is examining the insurer after a CNN.com report alleged that state health officials in Florida removed thousands of sick children from Children’s Medical Services (CMS) – a part of Florida Medicaid – and placed them on insurance plans owned by companies that together donated millions of dollars to Florida Republican Party committees.

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CMS specializes in children with serious medical issues. These unauthorized switches from Medicaid to private plans allegedly cost children the opportunity to have scheduled surgical procedures because the surgeons didn’t accept their new insurance, CNN reported.

“These are the sickest and most vulnerable kids, and (changing their insurance) can mean life or death for them,” Joan Alker, executive director for Georgetown University’s Center for Children and Families, told CNN. “This is really very troubling.”

UnitedHealthcare of Florida, a UnitedHealth subsidiary, was one of the insurers named in the report, according to Pomerantz.


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