CPAN slams big auto insurance companies for lobbying against bill that would protect access to care for thousands
HB 4486 provides technical fix to auto no-fault fee schedule taking effect July 1
LANSING, Mich.—(March 19, 2021)—As vulnerable accident victims and their families agonize over how they will access care after July 1, CPAN today called out Michigan’s big auto insurance companies for their cruel and callous lobbying against a narrow bill that would protect access to acute care rehabilitation services for thousands of patients.
“For years, Michigan’s auto insurance companies have charged consumers the highest rates in the nation — and shamefully, they’ve blamed the high rates on seriously injured accident victims,” said CPAN President Devin Hutchings. “Now, they’re doing everything they can to destroy access to care for catastrophically injured patients and kill thousands of jobs while they’re at it. Auto insurance companies don’t want to pay for the vital, long-term rehabilitation that people need, even though policyholders have faithfully paid their premiums year after year with the promise that their care would be covered.”
House Bill 4486 fixes an unintended consequence of 2019 legislation reforming Michigan’s auto insurance. Unless this bill is passed prior to July 1, thousands of vulnerable accident victims requiring the most complex care will need to be transitioned out of specialized residential programs with no place to go to receive the care, supervision, and treatment they need and deserve – and that families are often unequipped to provide at home.
HB 4486 is opposed by the Insurance Alliance of Michigan, the lobbying arm of Michigan’s wealthiest auto insurance companies — even though it does not impact the cost-saving elements of auto insurance reform, including Personal Injury Protection choice and anti-fraud measures. IAM opposes this bill at a time when auto insurance companies are hauling in record profits despite fewer accident claims due to the pandemic-driven decrease in driving.
“We need the Michigan Legislature to focus on the real issue, which is protecting access to care without adding costs to the system,” Hutchings said. “HB 4486 is a narrow and technical fix that does exactly that.”
HB 4486 adds post-acute services — including vocational services, residential services, case management and other key facets of care that help accident victims thrive — to a cost-containing fee schedule that was passed as part of auto insurance reform in 2019. Without this narrow, technical legislative fix, hundreds of providers will see the reimbursement for their services gutted by nearly half. Unlike huge insurance companies, these caregivers and clinics don’t have big profit margins, spend millions of dollars on Super Bowl commercials, or have stockholders to satisfy.