Michigan Catastrophic Care Crisis Goes Unmentioned in New Report from Insurance Lobby and State Regulators
Michigan Catastrophic Care Crisis Goes Unmentioned in New Report from Insurance Lobby and State Regulators
Judd: ‘Fortunately, we are optimistic the new Legislature will deliver a bipartisan solution’
BRIGHTON, Mich.—(Feb. 1, 2023)—Michigan’s catastrophic care crisis—which has thrown the lives of the state’s most vulnerable residents into chaos and eliminated thousands of health care jobs—went unmentioned in a recent report authored by the Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) and shared by the Insurance Alliance of Michigan (IAM).
Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council (MBIPC) Executive Director Tom Judd noted that while DIFS is tasked with giving the Legislature an annual report on the impact of the reimbursement system in the auto no-fault reform law, it is disheartening and disappointing that they made no mention of the results of the independent studies published by MPHI that found as a result of the draconian reimbursement cut of nearly 50%, as of April 2022:
Nearly 7,000 discharges of car crash survivors took place
Over 4,000 health care jobs lost
24 businesses that have closed or reported needing to close without a resolution
“Not surprisingly, the Insurance Alliance of Michigan continue to completely discount the experiences of mission-driven health care organizations and the people in need of care,” Judd said. “Instead, they continue their public campaign of misinformation on the mirage of real savings to Michigan drivers.”
Consumers throughout the state have not experienced significant reductions in their insurance costs, and in fact, many are experiencing—or will experience—a rise in their rates. The only true “savings” that the IAM can point to is the “refund” of the Michigan Catastrophic Care Association (MCCA) funds, which we now know was completely mis-managed and premature.
“Fortunately, we are optimistic that the new Legislature will deliver a bipartisan solution to end the Michigan care crisis,” Judd said. “We are encouraged that the lawmakers are listening to their constituents, crash survivors and their families, as well as ethical mission-driven health care providers that need a reasonable reimbursement level to provide access to their essential services. We are also confident that the Supreme Court will make their decision on the rule of law and constitution—not the pleas from the special interest group of the auto insurance industry whose mission is to increase the already exorbitant profit margins of its members.”