As Oral Arguments Begin at Michigan Supreme Court, MBIPC Calls for a Legislative Fix to Guarantee Care for All Crash Victims

Judd: “This case has always been about fairness, justice and the guarantee of care”

BRIGHTON, Mich.—(Mar. 2, 2023)— As the Michigan Supreme Court today hears oral arguments in the case Andary et al. v USAA Casualty Insurance Company et al., the Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council (MBIPC) is calling on the Legislature to pass a bipartisan solution that guarantees access to care for past, current, and future crash survivors. 

“Despite reckless misinformation from the Insurance Alliance of Michigan and their diminishing public supporters, this case is not about auto insurance rates or the evaluation of the success of the auto no-fault reform law of 2019,” said MBIPC President Tom Judd “Rather, this case has always been about fairness, justice and the guarantee of care car crash victims received when they entered into a contract with their insurance provider.”

According to objective data from two studies conducted by MPHI, as of April 2022, nearly 7,000 discharges occurred since the implementation of the fee cap system, over 4,000 healthcare workers lost their job, and dozens of service organizations were forced to turn away car crash victims.

“Vital rehabilitation services cut off. Access to services denied. People displaced from the homes. Families in turmoil. And tragically, some people lost their lives. This is what this case is about,” Judd said. “This is also why it is imperative that the legislature pass a law that ends this crisis. While people injured before the enactment of the 2019 law may receive some level of justice through the Supreme Court’s decision, there are hundreds of people that have been injured since and thousands more that will be injured in the future. They too deserve to have access to quality rehabilitation and the level of care they paid for through their auto insurance policy.”

Judd added: “We eagerly await the ruling by the Supreme Court but also look forward with hopeful optimism to our Legislature for a bipartisan solution that provides the narrow fix to ensure access to care for past, current, and future crash survivors.”

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Members of the Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council are committed to providing high quality, ethical rehabilitation services, with the mission of achieving the best outcomes for patients. As a trade association established in 1987 and based in Brighton, Michigan, MBIPC offers resource-sharing, information exchange, professional development and education, advocacy for brain injury standards of care and legislation protecting Michigan families, and the promotion of ethical conduct. For more information, go to mbipc.org, and connect with MBIPC on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.