California regulators released a report this week that found Kaiser has yet to fix several “deficiencies” in behavioral health care for which it was cited years ago.
The report from the California Department of Managed Healthcare lists 20 deficiencies it found in 2022 based on state regulations, ranging from failing to provide non-urgent mental health and substance-use appointments within 10 days to not ensuring members are offered urgent care appointments within 48 hours of the request.
According to the report, Kaiser still had not corrected 19 of them.
The report comes as Kaiser mental health workers in Southern California prepare to enter the sixth month of a strike against the health care provider.
“This report shows why Kaiser Permanente mental health workers remain on strike,” Sal Rosselli, president emeritus of the National Union of Healthcare Workers, said in a statement. “Kaiser keeps saying everything is fine when its workers know that patients can’t get the care they need because Kaiser’s services are understaffed and underfunded.”
In a response included in the 88-page document, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan said it had made “substantial progress” in addressing issues brought up in the report as it “continues the transformation of its behavioral health program.”
Kaiser said it was working on providing additional comment, and this story will be updated once LAist receives it.
What the report from state regulators found
The strike comes more than a year after state regulators hit Kaiser with a $50 million fine for failing to provide timely access to mental health care and other problems.
As part of that settlement agreement, Kaiser committed to investing an additional $150 million over five years to expand and improve behavioral…
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