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A union of psychologists, therapists, chemical dependency counselors and social workers is asking Kaiser Permanente to provide “much-needed” services to its patients, saying some wait months for needed treatment sessions.
“Patients are being ripped off while Kaiser’s coffers are draining,” union president Sal Roselli said in a statement. “We don’t take a shocking situation lightly, but it’s time to take a stand and get Kaiser to spend some billions on mental health care.”
The union said patients who need weekly or biweekly therapy are waiting months to start treatments, and waiting four to eight weeks more between appointments.
Kaiser Permanente said in a statement that the two key issues the parties are negotiating are salary increases and the union’s desire for more time for therapists to spend on tasks beyond seeing patients. The union is asking for more, despite Kaiser’s proposal to increase the time allocated to administrative work.
Kaiser, which reported $8.1 billion in net profit last year, said in a statement that it was unwilling to invest enough in additional employees, take steps to reduce burnout among current employees and do whatever it takes to bring in mental health clinics. HMO is equal to other health services offered.
The union is “using the current challenges as a bargaining chip,” Kaiser said.
“Despite the union’s harmful tactics, we are committed to negotiating in good faith,” said Deb Katavas, senior vice president of human resources at Kaiser Permanente Northern California. press release.
The clinics voted in June to strike after a year of contract negotiations.
CNN Business’ Chris Isidore contributed to this report.
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