HONOLULU — A bipartisan, bicameral group of 15 Hawaii legislators is calling on Kaiser Permanente to come to terms with striking mental health professionals and address longstanding issues that have placed the health plan on notice by the country’s primary accrediting body.
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About 60 Kaiser psychologists, therapists, social workers and other mental health professionals have been on strike for more than a month claiming they are unable to adequately treat their patients due to chronic understaffing and over-scheduling
In their letter to Kaiser executives, the legislators note that patients are being forced to wait up to 60 days to access initial behavioral health appointments and follow-up care
The group also noted that the National Committee for Quality Assurance recently cited Kaiser for violating national time access standard for mental health care and placed the organization under a corrective action plan
Kaiser Permanente said it is continuing to address staffing issues
About 60 Kaiser psychologists, therapists, social workers and other mental health professionals have been on strike for more than a month, claiming they are unable to adequately treat their patients due to chronic understaffing and over-scheduling.
