MBIPC Reacts to House Speaker Wentworth’s Statement Regarding Legislation to Fix the #MICareCrisis
MBIPC Reacts to House Speaker Wentworth’s Statement Regarding Legislation to Fix the #MICareCrisis
Judd: Wentworth ‘walking away from the scene of an accident with smoke smoldering and crash victims writhing in need of help’
BRIGHTON, Mich.—(March 16, 2022)—House Speaker Jason Wentworth today said that he will not entertain fixes to Michigan’s auto reform law for the rest of the 2021-2022 term, according to Michigan Information & Research Service Inc. (MIRS). “At this point, it's time to move on," Wentworth is reported to have said.
The following statement can be attributed to Tom Judd, president of the Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council:
“Speaker Wentworth’s comments come two weeks after an interfaith memorial was held just across the street from his office, where family members, friends and loved ones remembered five individuals who died after their care was ripped away due to auto insurance reform. Today, the speaker sealed the fate of more vulnerable survivors who will lose their care.
Without a fix to the 45% cut in care, more and more patients will be discharged with nowhere to go—these are patients who are on ventilators, who need to be turned every few hours to avoid deadly bedsores, who cannot shower without assistance. Meanwhile, the ‘savings’ alleged by the Speaker are a mirage—advocates will be releasing more information in the coming days showing how auto insurance is a failure for everyone but insurance companies.
Dozens of lawmakers, on both sides of the aisle, wanted a fair chance to protect these survivors and vote for a narrow and reasonable fix. Instead, several bills offering a reasonable solution never got so much as a fair committee hearing. Today, the Speaker ended the chance for a public dialogue where facts, data, and real life situations would be discussed in a public forum. Sadly, the Speaker caved to the auto insurance industry lobby, who worked hard to prevent any public hearing on this matter, and declined to give legislators the opportunity to have their voices heard in an up-or-down vote.
“What Speaker Wentworth is doing is akin to walking away from the scene of an accident with smoke smoldering and crash victims writhing in need of help. He can try to quiet providers and the accident victims who only want the care they have been promised—care they paid to have by paying their auto insurance premiums. And sadly more providers will go out of business and more individuals and families will suffer; however, I vow on behalf of those who are fighting for justice, fairness, and human dignity, that we will redouble our efforts to end the Michigan Care Crisis.”