More Changes To Michigan No-Fault Law Coming July 1

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More Changes To Michigan No-Fault Law Coming July 1

Michigan’s No-Fault law has more coming to it, and it’s not all good. As of July 1, businesses who provide care to Michigan’s catastrophically injured people, such as attendant care, home health care, or rehabilitation care, must reduce their fees by 45%. These care establishments will be taking such a large hit that many may not be able to survive, therefore not only putting their employees out of work, but also removing the necessary daily care these Michiganders need in order to thrive. All of this has been done in order to lower car insurance rates in Michigan, which has not yet proven effective considering most still pay hundreds of dollars a month or more for their insurance premiums. According to a study cited by the Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council (MBIPC), 8 out of every 10 rehabilitation care facilities will close.

This will force Michigan’s victims of traumatic brain injuries and spinal cord injuries to have to find their own attendant care, and not only that, but have to survive with even less of it. Proponents of this auto insurance “reform” and insurance companies push that these people can just go where Medicare covers their care. However, with so many of these businesses having to shut their doors on their patients, that leaves these victims few choices for what they can do to get the help they need. The MBIPC suggests that a “Statewide survey finds 6,000 accident victims expected to lose care and 5,000 health care providers to lose jobs if House Bill 4486 is not passed.” This survey was done on more than 110 brain injury rehabilitation providers, and according to the MBIPC survey, will be “forced to lay off thousands of workers, discontinue catastrophic care for thousands of auto accident patients, and potentially go out of business, if House Bill 4486 isn’t passed well before July 1.“

Under the new no-fault auto insurance reform that passed in 2019, services such as attendant care, home health care, rehabilitative care, etc., that do not have a corresponding Medicare code, must cut their reimbursements by 45%. House Bill 4486 contains a technical fix to this part of the legislation, proposing limits on how much post-acute care providers can bill, but also enabling these care providers to remain in business and supply the care to the patients they serve. Senate Bill 314 also allows for a fix to this portion of the law. In order to prevent devastating consequences, the people of Michigan must let their state representatives and state senators know that they want these two bills to pass well before July 1, and the deadline is fast approaching with the legislature breaking in a few short weeks. Call and e-mail your senators and representatives, and tell them that you want House Bill 4486 and Senate Bill 314 passed as soon as they can possibly do it, to get this portion of the law fixed.

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