Rally to End the Care Crisis Shows Momentum is Growing for Legislative Action to Restore Protections for Crash Survivors
Judd: ‘Today, we sent a clear, unequivocal message: No more excuses — this crisis needs to end’
LANSING, Mich.—(Oct. 3, 2023)—As momentum grows to pass legislation that will restore needed protections for catastrophically injured individuals, hundreds of crash survivors, family members and advocates gathered today at the Michigan Capitol at the Rally to End the Care Crisis.
“For more than two years, the carnage ushered in by the 2019 auto insurance reforms has continued unabated,” said Tom Judd, executive director of the Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council (MBIPC). “Today, we gathered at the steps of the Capitol to send legislators a clear, unequivocal message: No more excuses—this crisis needs to end.”
MBIPC was a cohost of the rally, along with CPAN, the Brain Injury Association of Michigan, the Michigan HomeCare & Hospice Association, the grassroots group We Can’t Wait, and the Michigan Interfaith Coalition.
The rally included emotional speeches from crash survivors and their loved ones, care providers and advocates, and lawmakers. In a poignant moment, the rally featured a memorial to 14 individuals who have passed away due to lost care since the new law went into effect in 2021.
The 2019 reform bill included a 45% cut in reimbursement rates for catastrophic care and a 56-hour per-week cap on attendant care provided by family members. These unjust and arbitrary provisions have decimated the post-acute care industry, leading to more than 7,000 patient discharges, the loss of more than 4,000 health care jobs, and the closure of 24 businesses as of April 2022, according to an independent study conducted by the nonprofit health institute MPHI.
Last week, Senate Bills 530 and 531, introduced by State Sen. Sarah Anthony and State Sen. Mary Cavanagh, will correct critical flaws stemming from auto insurance changes signed into law in 2019. The bills will create a reasonable and sustainable fee schedule that must be honored by insurance companies when paying post-acute rehabilitative care providers. Post-acute providers offer highly specialized care to patients once they have left a hospital setting.
“There are no more excuses and no need for further delays,” Judd said. “The public relations and lobbying arm of the insurance industry has done nothing but push back against any efforts for this reasonable fix. They have spent the past four years denying the calamity and spreading misinformation. They have slandered our network of ethical expert medical providers and the families of crash victims. They have used crash survivors—their own customers—as scapegoats, as they have failed to lower rates across the state, while raking in record profits. They have no credibility left in this discussion and should be ignored as we advance this reasonable solution that restores the continuum of care crash survivors need and deserve.”
A hearing on the bills is expected the week of Oct. 9.
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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.