Former Kaiser Permanente doctor sues the organization

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Dr. Richard Della Penna is a former doctor who worked for Kaiser Permanente. He filed a lawsuit against his former employer, saying they did not treat disabled patients fairly.

The doctor is an expert in caring for the elderly. He said Kaiser Permanente is required by law to treat disabled and chronically ill patients.

But he claims Kaiser Permanente denied treatment to about 57,000 people, even after the organization received $13 billion from Medicare to treat them.

Della Penna's attorney, Charles Mathews, said that Della Penna chose to file this lawsuit because the patients cannot.

"These patients don't have a voice," Matthews said. "They can't speak for themselves. The ones that are in need of palliative care will be dead soon. The ones that are chronically disabled typically don’t have the ability to speak or anybody to speak for them."

A Kaiser Permanente spokesman said they were not aware of the lawsuit and could not comment.