LANSING — Advocates for crash survivors are making another push for the state Legislature to pass what they say are much needed reforms.
The issues stem from a 2019 policy to reduce Michigan’s insurance costs. That legislation allowed drivers to select the amount of personal injury protection they’d like to pay for, but also watered down the benefits received under unlimited plans.
Under the 2019 changes, reimbursement rates for most care providers were cut by 45%, and insurers now only had to cover at-home care for 56 hours a week.
“What’s really happening is people are buying those policies, but they’re not able to access those benefits, because, again, the reimbursement rate for those specialized care services are well below the cost of care,” said Tom Judd, executive director of the Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council.
Since 2021, advocates for crash survivors and care providers have asked the legislature to adopt a new reimbursement scale that they say would provide survivors with the resources to obtain proper care.
“This is just about doing the right thing and to ensure those who are injured have access to the care that they need,” said Tim Hoste, president of the Committee to Protect Auto No-Fault.
With current reimbursement rates, those injured after 2019 may have to rely heavily on expensive professional care or labor from family members.
“Ffor these patients who are brain injured, severely brain injured and spinal cord injured crash victims, they needed, some of them, two people around the clock,” said Maureen Howell, capitol advocate for We Can’t Wait. “And often times, family members would be the second person or provide all the care.”
Last year, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that those injured prior to the 2019 reforms would have their full reimbursement rates restored. But advocates say there are still thousands of crash survivors who are going without the care they need — and that number is growing every day.
Erin McDonough, executive director of the Insurance Alliance of Michigan, said in a statement that the 2019 changes have lowered insurance rates and increased the accessibility of insurance for many drivers.
“Michigan was once a national pariah as the only state in the nation that mandated unlimited coverage for all drivers, which is why for years we had the dubious distinction of being the most expensive state in the nation. We cannot go backwards,” she said.
Advocates are hopeful that the House will consider a set of bills establishing a new schedule for care reimbursement, what they say is a narrow change that wouldn’t dramatically impact insurance costs.
Supporters say they’re ready to continue pushing for a legislative response into 2025 if necessary.
“Crash survivors, families, medical providers, disability advocates rights groups will not give up,” Judd said. “We will continue to come to Lansing. We will continue to urge our legislative leaders to to pass a solution, but we hope that it gets done over the next two weeks.”