HAWAI‘I STATE LEGISLATURE

STATE CAPITOL
415 SOUTH BERETANIA STREET
HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I 96813

October 5, 2022

Mr. Greg Adams Dr. John Yang

Chair and Chief Executive Officer President and Medical Director,
Kaiser Foundation Health Plan Hawai‘i Permanente Medical Group, Inc.
711 Kapiolani Boulevard 3288 Moanalua Road
Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96813 Honolulu, Hawai‘i 96819

Dr. Ramin Davidoff

Executive Medical Director
Southern California Permanente Medical Group
1011 Baldwin Park Boulevard
Baldwin Park, California 91706

Aloha Mr. Adams, Dr. Davidoff, and Dr. Yang,

Families across Hawaiʻi are currently facing historic challenges that impact their mental health: from the
pandemic, to climate change, to economic uncertainty. As a result, our behavioral health care system is
under increasing stress. Our state is taking action — we’ve made investments in mental health programs
and made culturally competent care a priority in our communities. But we can’t do it alone — health
plans and insurers need to step up.

For years, we have been troubled by reports of a worsening mental health crisis that’s been aggravated by
systemic lack of investment. In recent days, 50 clinicians who serve over 260,000 patients across Hawai‘i
went on strike at Kaiser Permanente. These psychologists, therapists, and social workers say that they
have been unable to treat their patients with the frequency those patients need and are entitled to. Patients
are forced to wait up to 60 days to access initial behavioral health appointments and follow up care can
take just as long. Clinicians say that their colleagues have been quitting Kaiser in record numbers because
too few providers are being asked to care for too many patients.

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) recently cited Kaiser for violating national
timely access standards for mental health care and placed Kaiser under a corrective action plan.
According to NCQA, Kaiser has understaffed its mental health services for years, has failed to take
effective measures to correct the problems, and has allowed the problems to worsen during the pandemic.
Today, Kaiser is the only health plan in Hawai‘i that’s been placed under corrective action by NCQA.

This must change — now. Kaiser enrollees deserve to receive medically-necessary mental health services.
Timely care is required by state and federal law. It is also essential for protecting the wellbeing of
individual patients, our communities, and our state.
We applaud the striking clinicians at Kaiser for standing up for their patients. We call on Kaiser
Permanente to resolve the strike in and to match the state’s commitment to investing in timely, accessible
mental health care. Finally, we call on state and federal regulators, and other public officials to vigorously
enforce all laws protecting patient rights.

Signed,

Representative Amy Perruso Senator Laura Acasio

House District 46 Senate District 1

Representative Jeanne Kapela Senator Lorraine Inouye

House District 5 Senate District 4

Representative Nicole Lowen Senator Rosalyn Baker

House District 6 Senate District 6

Representative Angus McKelvey Senator Bennette Misalucha

House District 10 Senate District 16

Representative Linda Clark Senator Kurt Fevella

House District 13 Senate District 19

Representative Dee Morikawa Senator Mike Gabbard

House District 17 Senate District 20

Representative Dale Kobayashi

House District 23

Representative Sonny Ganaden

House District 30

Representative Sam Kong

House District 33