The Kaiser mental health worker strike has now entered its 25th week. A new report from the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) reveals that Kaiser Permanente has not yet corrected 19 of 20 mental health care violations from 2022, despite a record $200 million penalty. The report highlights Kaiser’s failure to provide therapy appointments within legally required timeframes, leaving some patients in limbo.
Julia Romero, a Kaiser patient, said the ongoing strike has made it even harder for her to manage her mental health and addiction issues.
“I have very serious issues that I just don't feel like talking to someone else about, because that would make it worse,” she said. “My therapist already knows me and my dark thoughts.”
Feeling desperate, she wrote a letter to Kaiser CEO Gregory Adams in February, hoping to be heard.
“There’s a lot things that trigger me during the strike that makes me want to kill myself,” Romero said. “I kind of need the therapy. That’s why I wrote the letter, so maybe if they hear it from a patient it would change.”
The strike began in October when about 2,400 Southern California mental health providers, represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, walked off the job. They are demanding better pay, pensions, and more time for patient tasks.
Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom urged both sides to resolve the dispute through mediation, but former union president Sal Rosselli says there has been little progress.
“When mediation failed, we surveyed our membership, and 85% of these clinicians want to remain on strike for these issues as strongly today as in October when the strike started,” he said.
Fred Seavey, the union’s research director, said patients are often unaware of their rights to timely care.
“The kinds of mental health and substance use disorders that people have sort of compromises their ability to advocate for their own rights,” Seavey said.
Kaiser responded to the state report, saying it has made “significant improvements” in health care access for its members.
However, patients like Romero say the reality tells a different story. “Every day I hope that this strike will end. But every day I'm losing hope,” she said.
