No More Kaiser Suicides! NUHW Members Strike Kaiser Health System

Who Gets What at Kaiser

Created in 1945, with the backing of labor unions, and its main office being in Oakland, California, multi-million dollar private profit Kaiser is now staunchly anti-labor, paying off its 100 top executives with multi-million dollar salaries while its labor force is overworked and underpaid. With a net worth in 2021 of $43.3 billion according to the California Department of Managed Health Care, salaries are 231-1 and Greg Adams, the chief executive in Oakland, received $17.3 million in total compensation. He is among 100 top executives who have a choice of 8 pension plans. (https://www.laprogressive.com/labor-social-justice/kaiser-strike, 8/16/22, https://about.kaiserpermanente.org/who-we-are/leadership-team/national- leaders, https://about.kaiserpermanente.org/who-we-are/leadership-team/board-of- directors)

Kaiser claims to be a non-profit Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) and therefore pays no income taxes. (https://emma.msrb.org/P11604804- P11237706-P11660822.pdf p. 14, hereafter “Emma”). Kaiser is subject to all kinds of state and federal laws and regulations, and the California Attorney General has enforcement powers by definition for the state laws and regulations. (https://emma.msrb.org/P11604804-P11237706-P11660822.pdf p.54)

The doctors belong to 8 Permanente Medical Groups and are indemnified by Kaiser for liability claims. ( https://about.kaiserpermanente.org/who-we- are/permanente-medicine/permanente-medical-groups, https://about.kaiserpermanente.org/who-we-are/permanente-medicine/the- permanente-federation, https://permanente.org/about-us/our-medical-groups/, https://emma.msrb.org/P11604804-P11237706-P11660822.pd

p. 55)

Kaiser physicians are paid adequately compared to national standards, but for the San Francisco Bay Area, their salaries are low, compared to private practice physicians. The main benefit for the doctors is they do not have to pay administrative costs or manage an office; they just practice medicine. See https://www.indeed.com/cmp/Kaiser-Permanente/salaries/Physician, https://www.ziprecruiter.com/Salaries/Kaiser-Permanente-Physician-Salary--in- California, https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Job=Physician_%2F_Doctor%2C_Internal _Medicine/Salary/b7affc89/Kaiser-Permanente


Nationally, Kaiser’s finances in 2021 were as follows:
$8.1 billion in net income
$93.1 billion in operating revenues
$3.5 billion in capital spending.
$2.6 billion in community health programs.
$611 million in operating income. https://about.kaiserpermanente.org/who-we-are/annual-reports/2021-annual-report

Kaiser also has $54 billion in reserves.

https://www.courthousenews.com/california-lawmakers-probe-mental-health-care- crisis-looming-kaiser-strike/8/10/22

The profits and pension plans are all means of investments to make more money to enrich the directors and top executives who are clearly skimming the cream off the top. https://emma.msrb.org/P11604804-P11237706-P11660822.pdf, p. 8, et seq.

About 75% of Kaiser’s members are in California, and the California members constitute almost 25% or 9.4 million for Northern and Southern California combined of California’s 40 million population. https://about.kaiserpermanente.org/who-we-are/fast-facts

On August 15, 2022, an open-ended strike was started by 2,000 psychologists, therapists, counselors and social workers in the mental health division of Kaiser, led by the National Union of Healthcare Workers (NUHW) which represents 16,000 healthcare workers in California and Hawaii. https://www.courthousenews.com/california-lawmakers-probe-mental-health-care- crisis-looming-kaiser-strike/, 8/10/22, https://nuhw.org/about/, https://nuhw.org/category/press-releases/, https://nuhw.org/news-and-press/kaiser/, and updated daily press coverage at https://nuhw.org/news-and-press/kaiser/press- coverage-kaiser-mental-health/

In violation of the law, Kaiser immediately cancelled all of the appointments in the Mental Health Division, prompting the union to write an August 11, 2022 letter to the California Department of Managed Health Care, with a copy to Attorney General Rob Bonta, and others. The letter states that they have patients who are in serious danger of suicide See https://nuhw.org/sb221/, https://nuhw.org/kaiser-dont-deny/kaiser-strike/, https://nuhw.org/wp- content/uploads/NUHW-Complaint_DMHC_CareCancellationStrike_8-10-

2022.pdf, https://www.courthousenews.com/mental-health-workers-on-strike-at- hospital-giant-kaiser/ 8/15/22

As of August 17, 2022, 1600 follow-up care therapy appointments have been cancelled. See https://www.healthcaredive.com/news/kaiser-mental-health-strike- canceled-appointments/629915/

Senate Bill 221, which requires the next appointment be within 10 days, has been in effect for over a month. https://www.courthousenews.com/california-lawmakers-probe-mental-health-care- crisis-looming-kaiser-strike/, 8/10/22

Kaiser is legally required to provide the same level of care during a strike no matter the cost. See https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/08/16/the-strike-at- kaiser/

As of 7/27/22, waiting periods have been for 6 weeks or more. See

https://capitalandmain.com/therapists-flee-kaiser-as-mental-health-patients- languish 7/27/22

The American Psychological Association condemned Kaiser for its delayed access to mental health care in 2021, and nothing has changed. See https://capitalandmain.com/inside-kaiser-permanentes-broken-behavioral-health- care-system-0503, 5/3/21

Patients are waiting 4 to 11 weeks for care. See

https://medcitynews.com/2022/08/inside-kaisers-strike-mental-health-workers-say- they-refuse-to-keep-providing-subpar-care/

NUHW wants 9 hours a week for administrative work and 31 hours a week for care, while Kaiser is demanding 7.2 for administrative and 32.8 for care. Considering how exhausting this work is and the possibility of suicide, the union’s demands are reasonable. See https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/health-and- medicine/article264529166.html, 8/15/22

Wages are also an issue as the pay is $73.73 as of 2021, while a private therapist can charge $250 per hour. See https://capitalandmain.com/therapists- flee-kaiser-as-mental-health-patients-languish 7/27/21. In San Francisco, $73 per hour is just enough to support one person decently, renting an apartment.