Kaiser Permanente issued the following statement from Greg A. Adams, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Kaiser Permanente. announcement Regarding the settlement agreement with the Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) to improve behavioral health within Kaiser Permanente and across the state:
California and the nation have seen an unprecedented increase in demand for mental health care services over the past three years, largely due to the global pandemic and its aftermath. At Kaiser Permanente, need has increased by 33% during the pandemic, and there will be 20% more people seeking care in 2023 than at this time last year. A continuing shortage of qualified mental health professionals, clinician burnout and turnover, and even a 10-week strike by 2,000 mental health clinicians in California last year all contribute to this growing need for care. This is one reason why it is extremely difficult to meet these requirements.
At Kaiser Permanente, like other healthcare organizations, we are recovering from the severe disruption and ongoing effects of the pandemic. The timing of DMHC’s unscheduled review coincided with staffing shortages and strikes, high demand for care, and the effects of a prolonged pandemic, but Kaiser Permanente and all health plans are stepping up in new ways. It was an opportunity. We serve the mental health care needs of our community.
Kaiser Permanente believes that an individual’s physical health, mental health, and social health are connected and essential to overall health. We also believe in the power of integrated systems and the expertise of physicians and therapists to provide superior mental health care as an equal and integral part of a person’s overall health care.
Over the past three years, we have recognized the need to expand mental health care. In order to meet growing needs, we have increased our personnel and equipment. Since 2020, we have invested an additional $1.1 billion to provide mental health treatment for our members. We hired nearly 600 additional therapists and expanded our network to include thousands of community therapists. We invested an additional $195 million in new clinical facilities, including 329 mental health provider offices. Yet, during the DMHC survey period, we fell short of our members’ expectations and our own.
We focus on health outcomes, evidence-based care and research, building an integrated model and leading to continuous improvement. As we have made many enhancements to our mental health care delivery system, we need to ensure that our interventions and treatments are in line with our members’ expectations and ensure we achieve the best outcomes for our patients. There is still work to be done. We embrace this opportunity to expand our evidence-based care and new innovative programs to other parts of the state.
Our agreement with DMHC takes full responsibility for our performance, including our shortcomings, during the study period, acknowledges our efforts to improve mental health care, and recognizes our continued commitment to improving mental health care. Our investment not only helps Kaiser Permanente members, but also ensures we build a stronger mental health foundation. In the communities we serve.
We are committed to transforming the quality and outcomes for patients receiving mental health care in California. In partnership with states, as part of a $150 million investment over the next five years, we will help develop, build, and expand evidence-based treatments and care for behavioral health conditions. Examples of this initiative include programs designed to address the dramatically increasing mental health needs of young people and teens, providing educational and emotional support for mental health and substance abuse; This includes providing digital wellness services for children, and partnering with schools and universities to address their mental health needs. students and communities, workforce development programs to grow and train new groups of mental health professionals, and efforts to strengthen the integration of mental health care into primary and specialty care.
We are proud to partner with Permanente Medical Groups and our network of clinicians to provide quality care to our members. Every day, more than 13,000 people come to us for mental health care across our system. We recognize and support clinicians, therapists, and all those committed to providing evidence-based mental health care. As we move forward, we remain committed to working together to meet the needs of our members and communities and address society’s emerging challenges around mental health.
