Union accuses Kaiser of violations months after state fine on mental health care

The state agency said it had found shortcomings at Kaiser related to failures to provide timely appointments, insufficient oversight of medical groups in determining "appropriate care," and inadequate handling of patient grievances, among other issues.

Among the problems that DMHC noted: Medical records for patients did not show the use of legally required guidelines for making decisions about mental health treatment. Patient records instead showed "self-assessment scores" from questionnaires, according to the settlement agrement.

Kaiser Permanente chief executive Greg A. Adams said last year that the organization had seen demand for mental healthcare surge amid the pandemic, which collided with an "ongoing shortage of qualified mental health professionals, clinician burnout and turnover," as well as a 10-day strike by mental health clinicians.

In a recent statement, Kaiser said it was "in the process of implementing transformational changes contemplated by the settlement agreement," including a "dramatic increase in the number of providers available to see our members — both newly-hired therapists and contracted therapists."

A Rula spokesperson said in a statement that its therapists, "in collaboration with their patients, make all clinical decisions around the course of care."

In Chino, Jaklynn Fuentes-Soto said she was told by her therapist earlier this year that her sessions with the Rula provider would soon stop, even though "my therapist thought that I should continue treatment." The 25-year-old said that if she wanted to keep seeing the therapist, she would have to pay out of pocket.

As a student working part time, "I don't think that financially I'm able to."

Fuentes-Soto said she has been diagnosed with major depressive disorder and other mental health conditions. She said she had been regularly seeing her therapist after one episode led her mother to take her to the emergency room.

"If I'm not having the help that I need for my mental health," she said, "it has me regress to a very dark place."