MAC Joins Nearly 100 Organizations in Signing Open Letter Calling on State Rep. Brenda Carter to Hold Hearings on Auto No-Fault Bills
Senate Bills 530, 531 and 575 Passed the Michigan Senate in October, Receiving Bipartisan Support
The MAC recently joined with CPAN, the consumer protection organization fighting for fair insurance laws, and 95 other organizations in signing an open letter to Rep. Brenda Carter (D-Pontiac), chair of the House Insurance and Financial Services Committee, calling for a hearing on Senate bills 530, 531 and 575.
“Rep. Carter and members of her committee need to understand that there is overwhelming support for a hearing on these bills,” said Tim Hoste, president of CPAN. “Last October, crash survivors and advocates received a boost of hope when Senate Bills 530, 531 and 575 passed the Senate. After an early adjournment and winter break, we were hopeful that the House would address these bills at the beginning of 2024. But so far, the voices of crash survivors and their loved ones have been ignored.”
On February 28, 2024, CPAN representatives met with Chair Carter. After the meeting, Hoste released a statement that said: “CPAN believes we share with Chair Carter the common objective of ensuring access to care for catastrophically injured people and recognizing that the only path to achieve this objective is through legislative changes addressing the current fee cap system and arbitrary limits to family provided care. CPAN appreciates Chair Carter’s commitment to fairness and truth in solving these urgent issues that have caused unnecessary turmoil and suffering.”
CPAN believes there will be a hearing on the Senate bill package in the coming weeks and hopes that opponents of the bills, including the Department of Insurance and Financial Services and the Insurance Alliance of Michigan, will publicly answer questions about their broad opposition to the package. CPAN also looks forward to the opportunity to provide input on any alternative solutions being contemplated by the House of Representatives.
“It is essential that impacted stakeholders such as crash survivors, families and care providers have a voice in the development of any proposed solutions, and we appreciate Chair Carter’s guarantee that this will occur,” Hoste said in the statement.
Senate Bills 530, 531 and 575 – sponsored by State Senators Mary Cavanagh (D-Redford Twp.), Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing), and Jeremy Moss (D-Southfield) – were passed by the Michigan Senate on October 19, 2023, receiving bipartisan support. The bills offer narrow fixes to elements of the 2019 auto insurance “reforms” that have devastated the state’s post-acute care industry, which includes residential rehabilitation, in-home health care, case management, and other services for people who need long-term care. The bills were referred to the House Insurance and Financial Services Committee and are awaiting a hearing.
“Crash survivors and their family members deserve to have their voices heard,” the letter to Chair Carter reads. “The insurance industry must be called to task for willfully spreading misinformation. DIFS should answer specific questions about why they are advocating against these appropriate and necessary bills. All of this requires open, transparent and public discourse.”
It has now been more than 130 days since Senate Bills 530, 531 and 575 were passed by the Senate. Since then, 1,114 people have suffered serious injuries in car crashes, according to numbers from the Michigan State Police. These victims, and the thousands injured in prior years, are struggling to access the needed care and rehabilitation services promised and paid for by their auto insurance policies due to the arbitrary fee schedule imposed on providers passed as part of the 2019 reform.
Other organizations signing the letter include the Brain Injury Association of Michigan, Disability Rights Michigan, Michigan Association for Justice, Paralyzed Veterans of America – Michigan Chapter, Hope Network, and many more.
CPAN is a broad bipartisan, Michigan-based coalition whose mission is to be the consumer advocate for auto insurance policyholders, those who have been injured in a motor vehicle crash and the medical providers caring for them, representing them at the Capitol, in the courts, and in the public forum. For more information, please visit www.CPAN.us.
Sources:
CPAN Press Release, “Nearly 100 Organizations Sign Open Letter Calling on State Rep. Brenda Carter to Hold Hearings on Senate Bills 530, 531 and 575,” February 27, 2024
Open Letter to Chair Carter, February 27, 2024
CPAN Statement, “CPAN Shares Update Following Meeting with Rep. Brenda Carter; Hearing on Senate Bills Expected in Coming Weeks,” February 28, 2024
