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Kaiser mental health therapists expected to strike on Nov. 19

Times-Herald - 11/9/2021

Nov. 10—Nearly 2,000 Kaiser Permanente mental health clinicians will hold a one-day strike on Friday, Nov. 19 at Kaiser Permanente facilities across Northern California, the organization announced Tuesday.

The mental health psychologists, therapists and social workers will stand with their striking coworkers and demand that Kaiser bargain in good faith to fix its broken mental health care system that leaves patients waiting up to three months for therapy appointments and therapists overwhelmed with crushing caseloads.

Clinicians will stage pickets outside Kaiser hospitals in places like Vallejo, San Francisco, Sacramento, Fresno, Santa Rosa, Oakland and San Jose starting at 6 a.m on that date.

Mental health clinicians will be standing in solidarity with members of the Stationary Engineers, Local 39, who have been striking Kaiser facilities in Northern California since Sept. 18.

"Every time we've gone on strike to demand better care for our patients, the engineers have joined us on the picket line," said Willow Thorsen, a Kaiser social worker in Santa Rosa in a news release. "We're striking now to stand up for our colleagues and our patients, who are being denied the care they need."

Kaiser mental health clinicians, represented by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, have been without a contract since Oct. 1. In negotiations, Kaiser has rejected union proposals to increase staffing, recruit more bilingual and minority therapists and ease unsustainable caseloads that are causing increased turnover at Kaiser clinics.

Kaiser's refusal to consider union proposals to increase staffing comes as it will need to hire many more clinicians to comply with SB 221. The law, which goes into effect next July, requires health insurers to provide follow-up mental health therapy appointments within 10 business days unless the clinician determines that a longer wait would not be detrimental.

Currently, many Kaiser patients are being forced to wait between one and three months between therapy appointments, according to the release.

"Kaiser is in denial about how much its patients are suffering trying to access mental health care," said Kenneth Rogers, a Kaiser psychologist in Sacramento. "There's no clinical standard that calls for making patients wait a month or more between appointments, and therapists are leaving because we can't provide ethical care."

On Tuesday, Kaiser sent out a notice to his clients saying, that they had received the 10-day strike notice from the Guild for a work stoppage from from Nov. 15 through Nov. 22 that will affect operations at Northern California outpatient pharmacies.

"While we hope to reach an agreement with the Guild prior to November 15, we encourage you to avoid refill delays by using our free mail order delivery service," the statement read. "Go to kp.org, our mobile app, or call 1-888-218-6245 (available 24 hours) to have your medications delivered to your home. Deliveries usually arrive in 2-3 business days. If you need your prescription urgently, please visit our closest Kaiser Permanente pharmacy before November 15."

Arlene Peasnall, senior vice president of human resources at Kaiser Permanente, said that "while the union is issuing press statements about staffing, the real issue at the table is how much therapists are paid."

"We understand that NUHW is now threatening to strike —a bargaining tactic this union has used every time it is bargaining for a new contract with Kaiser Permanente, over the past 11 years of its existence," Peasnall said. "We are still bargaining and are committed to resolving the issues and reaching an agreement."

Peasnall explained that there has been a national shortage of mental health clinicians that was already a challenge before the pandemic, and over the past year-and-a-half the demand for care has increased everywhere. We have been taking action to address the shortage of caregivers and to ensure care is available to our members.

"Over the past five years we have added hundreds of new mental health clinicians to our workforce; we currently have more than 300 open positions," Peasnall said. "We've worked hard to expand the number of therapists in California, and are investing $30 million to build a pipeline to educate and train new mental health professionals across the state. We have significantly expanded our ability to provide virtual care to patients who want it, increasing convenience and access, even though NUHW initially objected to this effort.

"As a result of these efforts and more, Kaiser Permanente offers timely access to initial and return appointments that meets all state standards and is above the average of other California providers," Peasnall continued. "While this is an accomplishment during this time of caregiver shortage and increased demand, we are not finished. We know that every appointment is important and matters to each patient, every person's needs are unique and every Kaiser Permanente member who needs care deserves timely access to that care."

According to Peasnall, licensed marriage family therapists at Kaiser Permanente earn more than $126,000 on average, which is more than $21,000 higher than market average wages, and licensed clinical social workers make more than $128,000, which is more than $16,000 higher than the market average. The same trend is true in the other parts of Northern California. In Sacramento, licensed clinical social workers earn an average of more than $127,000 in wages, which is $24,000 more than the market average. In addition, we provide among the most generous benefits available.

"NUHW leadership has called for strikes every time we are in bargaining," Peasnall said. "It is a key part of their bargaining strategy, and it is especially disappointing that they are asking our dedicated and compassionate employees to walk away from their patients when they need us most. We take seriously any threat to disrupt care."

However, Kaiser employees going on strike do not agree with Peasnall. A union survey of Kaiser mental health clinicians released earlier this year found that:

—80 percent reported that their clinics are too understaffed to provide appropriate and timely care to patients.

—65 percent reported that every day they must schedule return appointments further into the future than is clinically appropriate for their patients.

—87 percent reported that weekly individual psychotherapy appointments are unavailable for patients who need it.

—55 percent reported that during the past six months they've considered leaving Kaiser.

In the California Health Care Foundation'sFebruary 2020 survey of Californians' health care priorities, "Making sure people with mental health problems can get the treatment they need," was the top concern among respondents with 90 percent saying it was either extremely or very important.

Kaiser has reported a $13.8 billion profit and has reserves totaling $44 billion.

"Kaiser has the resources to be the best place to give and receive behavioral health care, but it's chosen to be the poster child for unequal, unethical care," said Sal Rosselli, president of the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents Kaiser mental health clinicians in California and Hawaii and sponsored SB 221. "Kaiser's refusal to even consider proposals to boost staffing and improve care shows that it's not serious about working with clinicians to fix its mental health care system."

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