After publicly disputing a Congressional Committee’s finding of thousands of Medicaid enrolled children in Maryland who were not getting dental care to which they were entitled, UnitedHealth Group conceded the accuracy of that and other findings made by the Domestic Policy Subcommittee, Oversight and Government Reform Committee, in a letter the company sent to Chairman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH).

“We have reviewed the October 2 letter, and we concur with the Majority staff’s findings,” the UnitedHealth letter states.

Following a seven-month investigation into the death of 12-year old Deamonte Driver, who died of a brain infection caused by tooth decay, and the review of thousands of records produced by United HealthCare, the Domestic Policy Subcommittee issued findings in an October 2, 2007 letter to the Company.

The Subcommittee found that: 10,780 children had not seen a dentist in four or more consecutive years; few of the dentists claimed by UnitedHealth Group to be in their network actually provided dentistry to children enrolled by United; and that a single dental office provided more than a third of all dental care in Prince George’s County, where Deamonte Driver lived and died.

“United’s admission proves what the Subcommittee has been saying all along. Medicaid-eligible children in Maryland do not receive the dental care to which the law entitles them and for which taxpayers pay,” Kucinich said. “This Subcommittee will continue its investigation into dentistry for Medicaid-eligible children.”

The Subcommittee’s majority staff investigation into the adequacy of access to dental care for Medicaid-eligible children in Maryland raised serious questions about the quality of United’s network of providers and the reliability of the lists the company publishes for use by its enrollees. The staff’s experiences indicate the real difficulties parents and guardians experience in identifying a general dentist to sever Medicaid beneficiary children.

The Subcommittee requested and evaluated documentation of United’s dental network and records of the claims submitted for services rendered to United beneficiary children in 2006.