The Michigan Supreme Court issued an opinion on July 31 upholding the Michigan Court of Appeals’ decision regarding auto crash survivors injured before 2019 changes to the auto no-fault law. This ruling solidified that changes to attendant care and other lifetime benefits cannot be applied to individuals injured before the law went into effect.
In a 5-2 opinion authored by Justice Elizabeth Welch, the court ruled the legislature had not clearly articulated an intent to slash benefits for those injured before the changes took effect. This ruling, and the decision from the MI Court of Appeals, are based on the pivotal case,
Andary v. USAA Casualty Insurance Company.
“The insurance policies covering plaintiffs Ellen Andary and Phillip Krueger bind the insurance companies to their promise to provide Personal Injury Protection (PIP) benefits under the law that existed at the time of injury to those individuals covered by the policies,”
Welch wrote. “The 2019 no-fault amendments do not clearly convey an intent to retroactively modify these vested contractual rights.”
Despite the decision, survivors injured after July 2, 2021, including anyone injured in the future, will still be held to the arbitrary and dangerous limitations placed on care reimbursements and attendant care.
Rally at the Capitol
The Coalition to Protect Auto No-Fault (CPAN), the statewide consumer advocacy group that has long fought to protect victims of
catastrophic auto crashes, called for legislative urgency in passing Senate Bills 530 & 531 during a rally held on October 3, 2023 at the State Capitol.
The Rally to End the Care Crisis, which featured legislators, providers, and survivors, shined a light on the devastating impact of the state’s 2019 auto reform changes.
This important event was cohosted by CPAN alongside the Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council (MBIPC), the Brain Injury Association of
Michigan (BIAMI), We Can’t Wait, the Michigan Interfaith Coalition, and the Michigan Home Care and Hospice Association.
The rally included emotional speeches from crash survivors and their loved ones, care providers, advocates, and lawmakers. In a poignant moment, the rally gave tribute to the 14 individuals who have passed away due to a loss in care since the new law went into effect in 2021.
Senate Bills 530 & 531, recently introduced by State Senator Sarah Anthony and State Senator Cavanagh. If passed, these bills 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.
On October 4, 2023, a hearing took place before the Senate Finance, Insurance, and Consumer Protection Committee, where Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America (MPVA) submitted a “letter of
support” for SB 530 & 531.
Under the law as it currently stands, survivors injured after June 11, 2019—including anyone injured in the future—will be held to the arbitrary and dangerous limitations placed on care reimbursements and attendant care. According to a study by the nonprofit
public health institute MPHI, as of April 2022, the law had forced the closure of more than 30 businesses and the loss of more than 4,000 jobs. Those numbers will continue to increase unless a reasonable fee schedule is implemented by the Michigan Legislature.
Long-term care providers do not just provide care to people seriously injured in an automobile accident, but to others in the disability community like seniors, veterans, and persons with other serious illnesses/injuries, such as COVID-19. The loss of these services will impact far more than auto injury patients.
For over two years, crash survivors, their family
members, providers of essential rehabilitation services
and care, and disability advocates at the state level have
pleaded for a narrow fix to the law so that crash victims,
regardless of the date of their injuries, have access to the
care they need.
An arbitrary reduction in reimbursement rates by
nearly 50% for people injured after June 11,
2019 is not just and it cannot sustain the continuum of
care auto crash survivors need. The legislature must act
swiftly to implement a solution that is fair, reasonable,
sustainable, and that ends the care crisis for people
injured in car crashes after June 11, 2019.
While the auto insurance industry continues to defend
the oppressive fee cap system and its devastating impact
on crash survivors, offering no acknowledgment of the
catastrophe, MPVA and its coalition partners continue
to offer solutions and urges the legislature to ACT
NOW. We are hopeful that the Governor has been
genuine with past comments expressing a desire to
have a solution on her desk and we are optimistic this
legislature will deliver with urgency.
MPVA Blog 