Sarah Ream, Chief Counsel for the Department — Sarah Ream, Chief Counsel for the Department, was introduced and then explained that the requirement for timely access means plans must arrange access to an appropriate provider, but it does not guarantee access to a specific preferred provider, especially if that provider is out of network.
Mary — Referenced as having mentioned the help center.
Dan — Dan was referenced as having made a related point about the value of information gathered from help center complaints, with the speaker reinforcing that this data helps explain the issue being discussed.
Milton Brown — Milton Brown is introduced as a Kaiser enrollee and first witness, then begins testimony about his family's experience with Kaiser. He explains his background in psychology and suicide prevention, says he has identified multiple violations of the standard of care in his daughter's treatment, describes an 11-day gap before the next psychotherapy contact, and concludes that Kaiser broke the law.
Lauren Fink — Introduced as Senior Director of Public Policy with the Kennedy Forum.
Lauren Fink — Named as the next panelist to testify.
Hesondra Gutierrez Thompson, LCSW — Introduced as a Kaiser therapist and NUHW member.
Sophia Mendoza — Introduced as NUHW president.
Sophia Mendoza — Named as the next panelist to testify.
Sophia Mendoza — Sophia Mendoza, president of the National Union of Health Care Workers, introduced herself and continued her testimony by criticizing Kaiser’s treatment of providers and arguing that the underlying problem is Kaiser Permanente’s undervaluation of behavioral health. She also noted that she succeeded NUHW President Emeritus Sal Roselli last year.
Mr. Brown — Mr. Brown testifies about his daughter’s mental health care, describing long delays after intensive outpatient treatment before she received follow-up psychotherapy, which he says exceeded legal timelines and was unsafe. He argues Kaiser failed to properly document her diagnoses, provide an adequate treatment plan, or deliver timely standard-of-care care despite her severe suicide risk and the inpatient psychiatrist’s assessment of her as extremely dangerous. He says the delay in approving dialectical behavior therapy was several months, contributing to another suicide attempt, and notes that many other Kaiser members face similar delays before learning about effective treatment. The segment ends with committee thanks and Brown’s response that his daughter is doing much better.
Mr. Brown — Mr. Brown is invited to jump in and contribute as a professional in the area alongside Cassandra.
Mr. Brown — Thanked for coming and sharing his experience.
Cassandra Gutierrez-Thompson — Cassandra Gutierrez-Thompson is introduced as the next panelist and then begins her testimony, identifying herself as a licensed clinical social worker and a member of the National Union of Healthcare Workers. She goes on to testify about conditions related to Kaiser ADAPT.
Lauren Fink / Lauren Finky — Introduces herself as Senior Director of Policy at the Kennedy Forum and describes the organization's parity work.
Kaiser CEO — Referenced as having approached union leaders in the 1990s to build a constructive labor-management relationship.
Mark González — Named as one of the union leaders Kaiser CEO approached in the 1990s to build a constructive relationship.
AB1429 — Described as a bill that would streamline Kaiser plan members' access to out-of-network behavioral health care.
SB747 — Described as a bill to gather data needed to address compensation disparities.
Juan Carrillo — Assembly Member Juan Carrillo is acknowledged during the committee exchange, with brief thanks exchanged after the presentation. Carrillo responds by thanking the witness and chair, and the discussion remains a short, continuous interaction centered on the presentation and committee remarks.
Juan Carrillo — Assembly Member Carrillo was referenced as having previously raised a question about the difference between Northern and Southern California (NorCal vs. SoCal), which the speaker then followed up on.
Pilar Schiavo — Schiavo is acknowledged as the next speaker/commenter.
Pilar Schiavo — Pilar Schiavo is referenced multiple times as having spoken earlier in the hearing about the same issue, including concern about moving back from the settlement agreement to the corrective action plan.
Pilar Schiavo — Pilar Schiavo is cited approvingly for emphasizing what the system should be striving for, with the discussion reinforcing that the standard of care should not be reduced to a minimal threshold.
Ms. Gutierrez Thompson — The speaker asks Ms. Gutierrez Thompson to explain the one-appointment rule and whether self-investigation is a problem.
Celeste Rodriguez — Thanked the Chair, criticized Kaiser's absence, and noted personal experience as a SoCal Kaiser patient.
Jeff Gonzalez — Assembly Member Jeff Gonzalez thanked the chair and staff for the discussion and then spoke about behavioral health access concerns, praising clinicians while highlighting barriers faced by patients in diverse, rural, and non-English-speaking communities. He described problems with Kaiser’s care model, including staffing shortages, reliance on external networks, limited virtual care, poor follow-through on referrals, missing notes, lack of continuity with a home clinic, and the risk that patients can be forced to start over if external providers end care abruptly.
Jessica Duran — Jessica Duran is described as a longtime friend and clinician who has been on the picket lines for 196 days and counting.
Jessica — Described as an amazing colleague and clinician on the strike line.
President Mendoza — Asked to characterize the corrective action work plan and its impact on service delivery.
President Mendoza — Says the corrective action plan has no SMART goals and does not clearly articulate service-delivery impact.
President Mendoza — Thanked for speaking to the issue of the corrective action plan and oversight.
President Mendoza — Referenced as having described the process over many years.
Ms. Finkie — Ms. Finkie is invited to speak and answer questions further about transparency benchmarks, legislative oversight, and possible improvements to transparency and oversight practices.
Beth Pell — Introduces herself as being with Health Access California and describes the organization as a statewide consumer advocacy coalition.
Health Access California — The speaker identified themselves as representing Health Access California and argued that Kaiser has long received complaints about behavioral health care.
Tara Draper — Testified on behalf of the National Union of Healthcare Workers about staffing and access problems at Kaiser Permanente in Northern California.
Shanti Ezrin — Testified on behalf of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists and described collaboration with NUHW on access and provider fairness.
Tyler Rindy — Testified on behalf of the California Psychological Association and raised concerns about Kaiser’s chronic understaffing and wait times.
Omeral Tamimi — Testified about shortages and systemic barriers in Kaiser behavioral health care and urged accountability.
Linda Way — Testified on behalf of Western Center on Law and Poverty about reimbursement gaps and access barriers for Kaiser members.
Karen Vicarry — Karen Vicarry, speaking on behalf of Mental Health America of California, shared her lived experience as a parent of a child with a mental health diagnosis and described problems accessing Kaiser behavioral health care. She recounted how a Kaiser child psychologist dismissed her daughter's needs and blamed her as the parent, illustrating her broader concerns about the quality and responsiveness of Kaiser mental health services.
George Cruz — Testified on behalf of the California Behavioral Health Association in support of stronger partnerships and workforce support.
SB855 — Cited as requiring plans to arrange out-of-network care when they cannot provide in-network appointments.
Mia Bonta — Addressed as 'Director,' indicating the chair or director is being thanked and engaged in questioning.
Mia Bonta — Mia Bonta thanks Mr. Brown for his testimony and for speaking about his daughter, acknowledges the parents' perspective, and then broadens the point by noting that many parents in California are struggling for their children as well before transitioning to the next panelists.
Mia Bonta — The speaker thanked the chair and committee for recognizing the importance of behavioral health care by holding the hearing, and then addressed Mia Bonta as Madam Chair.
Mia Bonta — The chair continues referencing President Mendoza’s comments while emphasizing broad engagement in the hearing process, reiterating that point as part of the same discussion.
Mary Watanabe — Mary Watanabe is introduced as the Director of the Department of Managed Health Care and identified as part of the first panel, with the chair inviting her to begin the presentation.
Dan Southerd — Dan Southerd is introduced as the Chief Deputy Director for the Department of Managed Health Care and identified as a member of the first panel who is available to answer questions.