Patients and clinicians tell Assembly hearing Kaiser underinvests in behavioral health; NUHW strike spotlights workforce and continuity gaps

A panel of enrollees, clinicians and union leaders told the Assembly Health Committee on May 6 that Kaiser Permanente’s behavioral‑health delivery system is under‑resourced and that operational practices — including very short therapy appointments, limits on scheduling and heavy reliance on external vendors — have harmed patients and driven clinicians to strike.

Milton Brown, a licensed psychologist who testified as a Kaiser enrollee, described his daughter’s suicide attempt and a series of delays and gaps in follow‑up care he said violated state timely‑access requirements. Brown said a required post‑discharge follow‑up occurred 11 days after an inpatient stay when law requires follow‑up within 10 days and that other recommended services were delayed. "The biggest trauma of my adult life was when my daughter almost died by suicide," Brown said during testimony; he added that it took months to secure dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), an evidence‑based treatment he said could have reduced risk sooner.

Clinicians and union leaders described workplace and care models they said reduce clinical quality. Cassandra Gutierrez…