California Regulator Investigates Kaiser During Ongoing Mental Health Strike

Regulatory Investigation Launched Amid Ongoing Strike; Updated Picket Line Details Announced

Glendale, Calif. – The California Department of Managed Health Care has initiated an enforcement investigation into Kaiser Permanente to assess whether the healthcare provider is adhering to patient care standards during the ongoing strike. This move is aimed at facilitating the collection of comprehensive documentation from Kaiser.

This investigation follows a similar probe in 2022 linked to a mental health strike in Northern California, which revealed that Kaiser had canceled 111,803 therapy appointments over ten weeks. The outcome was a $200 million Settlement Agreement last year, including a $50 million fine, the largest ever against a California health plan for mental health parity violations.

The latest probe was triggered after Kaiser provided a service maintenance plan for the strike lacking specifics on how it will deliver essential mental health services to its 4.8 million members from San Diego to Bakersfield.

“Kaiser produced a far more detailed plan for maintaining care during the strike in Northern California when it canceled over 111,000 therapy appointments,” noted NUHW President Emeritus Sal Rosselli. “There’s no way Kaiser is complying with state rules for maintaining access to care for its patients when it already had huge access issues before its health professionals went on strike.”

No new negotiations are planned for this week. Major points of contention include Kaiser’s rejection of demands to give nearly 2,400 mental health professionals in Southern California the same non-appointment patient care time, wages, and retirement benefits as their Northern California counterparts and other comparable workers across the Kaiser network.

Revised Strike Picket Line Schedule Picket lines will commence at 8 a.m. and conclude at 2 p.m. Monday’s picketing locations include:

• Los Angeles Medical Center (LAMC), 4867 W. Sunset Blvd.
• San Diego Medical Center, 9455 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
• Fontana Medical Center, 9961 Sierra Ave., Fontana
• Anaheim Medical Center, 3440 East La Palma Ave., Anaheim

Tuesday’s picketing will occur at:

• Riverside Medical Center, 10800 Magnolia Ave., Riverside
• Woodland Hills Medical Center, 5601 De Soto, Ave. Woodland Hills
• San Diego Medical Center, 9455 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
• Downey Medical Center, 9333 Imperial Highway, Downey

A lunchtime rally featuring community and elected leaders is scheduled at all strike sites. For a comprehensive list of picket line locations and times, click here, and for more information about the strike, click here.

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The National Union of Healthcare Workers represents 19,000 healthcare workers in California and Hawai’i, including over 4,700 mental health professionals at Kaiser.

The post Press release: State regulator opens enforcement investigation against Kaiser as strike enters fourth week appeared first on NUHW.

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