California Legislators Urge Kaiser to End Mental Health Workers' Strike

California Legislators Urge Resolution in Kaiser Mental Health Workers' Strike

A significant number of California state legislators have expressed their support for mental health workers at Kaiser Permanente who have been on strike for nine weeks in Southern California. They are urging Kaiser CEO Greg Adams to return to negotiations and consider the proposals put forth by the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW).

The legislators, referencing NUHW data, highlighted that Kaiser has been canceling individual and group therapy sessions at an "alarming rate" during the ongoing strike. They also pointed to recent complaints filed by California regulators against Kaiser for inadequate mental health services. They encouraged Adams to "resume good-faith negotiations with NUHW as soon as possible and accept the union's reasonable proposals to ensure the adequate and timely provision of mental health services to its patients."

The letter from Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas was signed by 40 fellow assembly members, while the letter from Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire had the support of 20 senators. Such a unified stance is rare among state legislators regarding a union contract dispute, but Kaiser’s history of denying timely and adequate mental health care, particularly during strikes, has prompted this response.

In 2023, the California Department of Managed Health Care fined Kaiser $50 million for insufficient staffing in its mental health services and required the insurer to draft a Corrective Action Plan, which has yet to be made public. The agency also noted that Kaiser canceled 111,803 therapy appointments during a 2022 strike by NUHW-represented mental health therapists in Northern California.

Evidence suggests that Kaiser is again infringing on patient rights during the current strike in Southern California. Complaints from NUHW document instances where Kaiser forced patients onto 30-day appointment waitlists, canceled thousands of psychotherapy groups, lacked adequate staffing for hospice services, and directed patients with severe conditions to an unprepared external provider.

Kaiser is legally required to maintain mental health services during a strike, yet their initial contingency plan submitted to the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) was criticized for lacking detail on how it would provide critical mental health services to 4.8 million members from San Diego to Bakersfield.

Assembly Speaker Rivas expressed his concerns over the contingency plan, stating, "I have seen the strike contingency plan that Kaiser submitted to DMHC, and I am greatly concerned that the plan does not provide sufficient detail regarding Kaiser’s arrangements to prevent widespread appointment cancellations without timely and appropriate replacement services. I've learned that patients' appointments are being canceled at an alarming rate, leading to indefinite delays or, worse, denial of care."

The strike involves 2,400 Kaiser mental health therapists, including psychiatric nurses, social workers, and psychologists, who have been on strike since October 21, stretching from San Diego to Bakersfield. Kaiser has yet to invite these workers back to the negotiation table since the first week of the walkout.

The striking workforce is advocating for a contract that:

  • Allocates them the same amount of time (seven hours weekly) for critical patient care tasks as their Northern California counterparts, which include responding to patient calls and emails, preparing for appointments, and creating treatment plans. This lack of time is a key factor driving therapists away from Kaiser, exacerbating the insurer's chronic staffing issues.
  • Reinstates pensions available to nearly all Kaiser employees, including Northern California mental health workers, which were removed from Southern California mental health professionals a decade ago.
  • Reduces the wage disparity with medical care providers at Kaiser, who earn up to 40 percent more.

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