San Francisco, California – The state Department of Managed Health Care issued a $4 million fine due to Kaiser’s insufficient mental health service provision.
People in California with behavioral and mental health issues need an urgent care and immediate or regular treatment. People with mental and behavioral disabilities, visit urgent care clinics and other health care facilities for their medication, therapies, and other necessary procedures.
However, millions of Kaiser Permanente members in California failed to obtain their deserved health care due to the insufficient mental health service provision of the company. Official reports state that the Department of Managed Health Care of the state of California charged Kaiser for a $4 million fine due to the incident. Thus, the company agreed to pay the said fine.
The fine was issued last year, and the company has promised to file a petition against the agency’s second highest fine ever charged. Until today, however, the company’s initial plan was never brought into action. Such plan was dropped, and now Kaiser is willing to pay the imposed fine instead. The company has also promised to improve their mental health care offerings.
As a sort of an urgent care near me agreement, both parties are set to give opening statements before an administrative law judge set on Tuesday. However, Kaiser sent a fax late Monday to the court, saying the company would pay the fine instead, and asking for a case dismissal from the judge.
A coalition of mental health and social workers, along with the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) argued that the long waiting period of the case resulted in more tragic situations, including suicides in extreme cases. Mental health workers and clinicians admitted that there was an insufficient mental health service, failing to provide patients with mental health care in a timely manner. Most of these patients were coping with depression, anxiety, and other mental conditions.
The need for an urgent care clinic is really urgent, considering the current mental conditions of patients. Such issues should be addressed immediately with proper treatment procedures.
Despite the company’s agreement to pay the fine, the entire Kaiser Foundation Health Plan still disagreed with the state department’s ruling. Other reports also stated that although Kaiser acknowledged the fine, some areas in their procedures, including data tracking and non-urgent appointment options will really need improvement.
Additionally, the company claimed it has improved its mental health practices that allowed patients to select their therapists, and added steps to protect privacy, contrary to the insufficient mental health service claim.
