UnitedHealthcare Agrees To Cover California Members’ Speech Therapy Services

On August 27, 2013, the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) announced that UnitedHealthcare California and U.S. Behavioral Health Plan California (also a division of UnitedHealthcare) agreed to cover speech therapy services. A DMHC review of consumer complaint data had revealed a pattern of denials by UnitedHealthcare for speech therapy services on the basis that the enrollees’ need for services was not due to a physical health condition. In the agreement, posted by DMHC, it notes that both UnitedHealthcare entities had been denying medically necessary speech therapy by citing a clause in the plan exclusion and limitation of . . .