Kaiser Permanente Faces Crucial Bill: Will It Finally Fix Mental Health Care?

LISTEN UP, EVERYONE! The fight for mental health care at Kaiser Permanente is heating up, and it’s about to get even more intense. On April 29, 2025, the California Assembly Health Committee will consider a groundbreaking bill, AB 1429, that could revolutionize how Kaiser Permanente handles mental health services. This bill is a direct response to the $200 million settlement Kaiser Permanente agreed to in 2023 for multiple mental health violations. The company admitted it doesn’t have enough therapists to provide timely appointments, and patients have been suffering as a result.



AB 1429 is all about accountability. It mandates that Kaiser Permanente provide full reimbursement for patients who have paid out-of-pocket for mental health services that Kaiser should have provided. This includes reimbursements for treatment and medications from non-Kaiser providers dating back to May 1, 2022. The bill will remain in effect until the Department of Managed Health Care certifies that Kaiser has successfully completed its Corrective Action Work Plan. This is a game-changer for patients who have been left in the lurch by Kaiser’s systemic failures.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS? It means that Kaiser Permanente will have to step up its game and ensure that patients receive timely and appropriate mental health care. No more excuses, no more delays. Patients will qualify for reimbursement simply by attesting in writing to Kaiser’s failure to provide necessary services and submitting their receipts and prescriptions for treatment from a non-Kaiser licensed mental health provider. This is a no-brainer!

The bill is sponsored by the National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents nearly 5,000 Kaiser behavioral health workers in California and Hawaii. These workers have been on strike since October, seeking provisions that would help Kaiser attract and retain more mental health workers. Kassaundra Gutierrez-Thompson, a therapist for Kaiser in Los Angeles, said, “This bill would help Kaiser patients get the care they need and help hold Kaiser accountable to finally provide the behavioral health services that its patients are paying to receive.”

Kaiser Permanente has a long history of violating mental health laws and clinical standards. It was fined $4 million by California regulators in 2014 for denying members timely access to care, and fined $50 million in 2023, the largest fine in state history for violating multiple mental health laws. In agreeing to the fine, which was part of the $200 million Settlement Agreement, Kaiser acknowledged that “it lacks sufficient behavioral health providers” and that “This lack of clinical staff has resulted in excessive wait times for enrollee individual therapy appointments…”

AB 1429 is not just about reimbursement; it’s about ensuring that Kaiser Permanente takes mental health care seriously. The bill requires Kaiser to establish procedures for reimbursing patients and submit a monthly report to state officials detailing the reimbursements. Failure to provide reimbursements will result in penalties paid to the patient as well as a $5,000 fine per incident. This is a wake-up call for Kaiser Permanente to get its act together and provide the care that its patients deserve.

But the fight for mental health parity doesn’t stop there. Last Tuesday, the Senate Labor Committee voted 4-0 to advance another NUHW-sponsored bill, SB 747, which aims to address the compensation disparity between behavioral health workers and comparable workers who provide medical/surgical care. This bill would require large health plans and medical groups to report compensation data for both classes of employees to the California Department of Industrial Relations. Currently, Kaiser pays its Southern California non-mental health workers, who have similar educational, licensure and patient care responsibilities, up to 50 percent more than its mental health therapists, even as Kaiser claims there’s a shortage of mental health therapists.

THIS IS A MAJOR SHIFT in the fight for mental health care. Kaiser Permanente has been under the microscope for its failures, and now it’s time for them to step up and provide the care that their patients need. AB 1429 is a crucial step in the right direction, and it’s up to the California Assembly Health Committee to make it happen. So, mark your calendars for April 29, 2025, and get ready for a showdown that could change the landscape of mental health care in California.