GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Officials and executives say Florida failed for nearly three months to pay tens of thousands of health-care claims for the state's sickest and neediest children due to software glitches blamed on the corporate merger of its two largest payment vendors.
Families with critically ill children who relied on Medicaid-paid health providers were stranded in some cases.
Payment problems panicked more families, especially as unpaid bills for nursing care and other home health services began stacking up over months with no quick resolution in sight.
Executives at Sunshine State Health Plan Inc. say the payment glitches stemmed from the company's Oct. 1 merger with the second-largest payment vendor, WellCare of Florida Inc.
