The HMO, Kaiser Permanente was recently fined $4m by the State of California for violating California mental health parity law. The fine, the second largest in California history, was in response to Kaiser’s failure to provide access to mental health care in a timely manner. Along with the fine, California Department of Insurance issued a cease and desist order, which may include changing the marketing materials that Kaiser uses where mental health treatment is inappropriately described. The Department of Insurance pointed to specific sections of the materials:
- A FAQ which stated that Kaiser did not provide long-term psychotherapy services (a violation of the state law).
- A section of the website which stated that Kaiser would refer all consumers for long-term care which would not be provided by nor reimbursed by Kaiser.