The National Union of Healthcare Workers alleged that Rula Health, a contracted network of therapists for Kaiser, was directed to use illegal criteria during reviews to determine the medical necessity of therapy for patients, potentially leading to unfair terminations of care for those needing further treatment.
The union raised concerns that Kaiser was not following California's requirement to base mental health care decisions on professional criteria, as they observed patients' self-reported symptoms being used by Rula Health instead. This could result in patients being improperly cut off from necessary care.
Additionally, the union pointed out that Kaiser's imposition of frequent clinical care reviews specifically for mental health, without similar reviews for outpatient care in other health conditions, potentially violated laws against creating barriers to mental healthcare access.
The National Union of Healthcare Workers urged the California Department of Managed Health Care to intervene, demanding Kaiser to cease the review process and notify patients whose treatments may have been wrongly terminated by Rula Health.
#kaiser-permanente #national-union-of-healthcare-workers #mental-health-care #california-department-of-managed-health-care #healthcare-regulations
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