Pediatricians are questioning whether the decision to switch 13,000 high-risk children from the state’s comprehensive Medicaid program to lesser plans that many physicians reject had a political motivation behind them, according to a bombshell new CNN report. Specifically, experts say the data and survey instrument used to justify dropping children from the high risk plan, thus causing them to lose coverage, were bogus.

And worse, the report questions whether the move was a reward for insurance companies who sent millions of dollars to the Florida Republica Party. It’s a claim that health care officials strongly deny, but one that is causing local advocates to sound the alarm.

“This was a way for the politicians to repay the entities that had contributed to their political campaigns and their political success, and it’s the children who suffered,” said Dr. Louis St. Petery, former executive vice president of the Florida chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, according to the CNN report.

“CMS is well-known and well-respected,” said Dr. James Perrin, professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, in the report. “It’s one of the earlier programs to build in assurances that these kids get the kind of care they need.”

Florida Watchdog noted that the health care system in the state finished bottom of the pack.

“Florida received a score of 46.07, with a score of 100 representing the best-quality health care at the most affordable price,” they wrote. “The state ranked dead last among states and the District of Columbia in its percentage of insured adults aged 18 to 64, according to the WalletHub study, and came in at No. 47 for its percentage of insured children 17 years and under.”