[Updated September 12, 2019 to add link to our archive of Arce vs. Kaiser autism class action lawsuit documents and court filings]
The adorable Andrew Arce, who is quite a bit older now
Great news! The Arce vs. Kaiser autism class action lawsuit has been settled, resulting in the creation of a $9 million fund to reimburse members who incurred out-of-pocket expenses due to having their treatment denied. Anything left over will go to autism research.
KP’s PR statement tells us that, “this settlement does not determine that Kaiser Permanente acted inappropriately,” but we know better, don’t we? Just once we would like to see something truthful come out of that BS factory. Such as, “This settlement determines that KP acted inappropriately, by denying treatment to members with autism. This often meant depriving them of the early intervention that virtually every autism expert in the world deems necessary for the best results. However, our agreement to establish a $9 million fund to reimburse our victims should in no way be construed as concern for the actual well being of the people we have harmed. It is merely a reflection of our realization that seeing the lawsuit through to the end would have cost us many times that amount, and of course our fear of the bad publicity that would have certainly resulted.”
There is nothing KP hates more than bad publicity, and now they get to pretend they did it out of the goodness of their black little hearts.
Below is a link to the article in Sacramento Business Journal, and the Autism Daily Newscast has also covered the story here:
Kaiser to pay $9M to settle autism therapy suit
Kaiser Permanente has agreed to pay up to $9 million to settle a class action that alleged the health plan illegally refused to provide behavioral therapy for autistic children before it was mandated by state law.
The lawsuit was filed in Southern California in April 2009 on behalf of Andrew Arce of Los Angeles and others like him. Andrew was 2 years old when Kaiser denied coverage for applied behavioral analysis even though its own doctors said it was medically necessary.
Did you get that last part? “Kaiser denied coverage for applied behavioral analysis even though its own doctors said it was medically necessary.” That’s right, when KP says in its advertisements that medical decisions are only made by doctors, they are flat out lying.
Our prior posts about this case are located here, and we have archived many of the court filings and other documents here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In other news, we would like to remind everyone that while we haven’t been able to do as much updating of the website as we would like in recent months, we do regularly update our Facebook page with links to Kaiser related news, lawsuits and scandals. Please do not mistake our lack of posting here as an indication that KP has changed its ways. We do believe there have been some positive changes over the last few years, but not nearly enough. We are receiving fewer complaints about certain issues that were prevalent in the past, but we have a particular concern about KP’s treatment of the elderly, which only seems to be getting worse. Unfortunately, we can’t often post those stories because most of the victims are still under Kaiser care.
Now, to everyone we owe emails: we are backed up and trying to slowly work our way through them, but it will take some time. We do always read them as they come in, but haven’t been able to respond in a timely manner. If you are waiting for an answer, your best bet for a speedy reply is to contact us again, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible. No need to retype everything you sent previously, just give us enough info to find your prior attempt.
The Fleecing of America…..
As a senior On Medicare’s Tax $$, you get misdiagnosed BY kp put thru procedures and a drug that damages your thyroid, nervous system & LEFT with tremors. You are now obliged to be treated by the same people that screw you up and pay out of your own pocket for treatment drugs, travel and expenses…
That is not all!
Medicare now spends tax $$ for treatment to the same inept HMO MDs that damage your health!……..BUT WAIT….!
That is not all!!!!!!!!!!!
You know complain to Medicare that the HMO should pay. No tax $$ spend to remedies for wrongs done by the HMO!!!
Guess what!
Medicare invites the Fraud…..It sends you back to HMO
So Kaiser can screw up an HMO’s member health and provide health care for him/her all at the expense of our Tax $$$$$$$$
A never ending vicious cycle……
Ever wonder why the USA is Med worst off than any other country?
BE AWARE
Kaiser mentioned that a law suit has been settle but and important lesson to learn is that the fourteenth amendment of the US constitution protect us all and all this crap by the administration is to perpetuate and suppress the truth of a patient right to adjudicate the matter have a professional code of medicine. This wishy-washy crap is not proper professional conduct
I was sadly mistaken that Kaiser would never fire someone for doing their job and if they were not doing it accordingly that they would get proper training or be placed somewhere else after giving 20 plus years to them. That the Principles and Responsibilities not only applied to the employees but, also to the employer. The EEOC would INVESTIGATE and not go by word of mouth (Kaiser’s) and deny anything was done inappropriately. I was sadly mistaken!
I would like to know if Kaiser has the habit of denying care to Latino populations as a type of strategy. I am a 30 plus year member and I recall my mother as well as all of my family being turned for care, even simple preventative care such as physicals and prenatal care for my mother. Have other Latino people experienced this? What is the reason for this? They also would just treat her so bad. Does anyone have similar experiences with them ELA locations?
I was stunned to find out that Kaiser Permanented closed some facilities and eliminated giving yearly physicals and other services in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. I would like to know if Kaiser can be sued for breach of contract when it fails to provide the services outlined in its proposal or iIs there a fine print clause that cover’s Kaiser under this circumstance.. If not, I would like to know what oversight is given to HMO’s and to Kaiser Permanente Georgia, in particular. In the case of HMO’s it seems as if the consumer has little options when it comes to being bound to a “contract” that fails to deliver.
We have some links to Georgia resources here: https://www.kaiserthrive.org/resources-for-kaiser-victims/
Here in Southern California, the Kaiser Doctors have been told to REFUSE to sign any handicap placard or plate requests from parents of autistic children that elope and put themselves in danger in parking lots. It is despicable! The DMV allows placards and plates for neurologically impaired persons which include autistic persons/children, who present a danger to themselves in public parking areas. I also ask myself why such a huge health organization also only contracts with ONE ABA company, Easter Seals, which cannot meet the need for ABA therapy services needed. Yes, you can ask for a Single Case Agreement to use another company; however, this eats up valuable time getting it approved which the child misses out on desperately needed therapy. I often wonder if this violates the continuity of care provisions of Medicaid and state insurance law mandates, yet they do it all the time. With a no-bid contract from the Governor to become probably the largest state Medicaid provider, I fear for the health of our autism community!