History Speaks for Itself —
Kaiser’s Mental Healthcare
System is Dangerously Broken.
History Speaks for
Itself — Kaiser’s Mental Healthcare System is
Dangerously Broken.
After more than a decade of serious state sanctions
for mental healthcare violations, including $54 million in fines,
Kaiser is putting patients at risk again by forcing
its 2,400 Southern California behavioral health professionals
to strike to secure parity for their patients and themselves.
After more than a decade of
serious state sanctions for mental
healthcare violations, including
$54 million in fines, Kaiser is putting
patients at risk again by forcing
its 2,400 Southern California
behavioral health professionals
to strike to secure parity for their patients and themselves.
Kaiser’s Unbroken Record of Broken
Promises on Mental Healthcare
The California Department of Managed
Health Care fines Kaiser $4 million for
making patients wait too long for mental
health assessments and treatment.
Kaiser is cited again and agrees to
three years of outside monitoring
of its mental health services.
NUHW sponsors a landmark mental health
law requiring all California health plans to provide medically necessary follow-up
therapy appointments within 10
business days.
Kaiser agrees to a $200 million
Settlement Agreement in California
that includes a $50 million state fine
for mental health care deficiencies,
including understaffing its clinics.
NUHW releases “Care Delayed, Care
Denied”, a report outlining Kaiser’s
failure to comply with mental health
parity, timely access, and clinically
appropriate care laws.
Kaiser is cited for failing to correct its
pre-existing mental health deficiencies
in a follow-up state survey.
Kaiser therapists strike throughout
California demanding better staffing
so patients don’t have to wait more than
a month between appointments.
- California regulators open another
enforcement investigation into Kaiser
after a sharp increase in
patient complaints. - Kaiser therapists strike for 10 weeks
in Northern California and 172 days in
Hawaii demanding more staffing and
better access to care. - Kaiser illegally cancels 111,803 therapy
appointments during the Northern
California strike.
While Kaiser fails to finalize a
state-approved Corrective Action Plan
to address its mental health deficiencies,
its mental health professionals begin
an open-ended strike in Southern
California, seeking a contract that will
address severe understaffing and
improve access to care.
Since 2020, NUHW members who provide mental health care at
Kaiser Permanente have spent over 40 weeks on strike in
California and Hawaii seeking to end Kaiser’s practice of
understaffing its mental health clinics and denying patients
timely care. During that period, NUHW has lodged more than 30
complaints with state regulators documenting Kaiser’s
violations of state parity, timely access, and clinically appropriate
care laws and regulations. Still, despite multiple fines and
disciplinary actions, Kaiser continues to understaff its clinics
and delay and deny appropriate mental health care to its
more than 9 million members in both states.
State regulators, professional organizations, and patient advocates
agree – it’s time for Kaiser to fix its broken mental health system.
Since 2020, NUHW members
who provide mental health care
at Kaiser Permanente have spent
over 40 weeks on strike in California
and Hawaii seeking to end Kaiser’s
practice of understaffing its mental
health clinics and denying patients
timely care. During that period,
NUHW has lodged more than 30
complaints with state regulators documenting Kaiser’s violations
of state parity, timely access, and clinically appropriate care laws
and regulations. Still, despite
multiple fines and disciplinary
actions, Kaiser continues to
understaff its clinics and delay
and deny appropriate mental
health care to its more than
9 million members in both states.
State regulators, professional
organizations, and patient
advocates agree – it’s time
for Kaiser to fix its broken
mental health system.
In an emergency or in need of immediate help, dial 911 or go to your nearest emergency room.
NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION LIFELINE
1-800-273-8255
