Kalamazoo Township passes resolution opposing auto no-fault reform legislation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 16, 2013
Kalamazoo Township passes resolution opposing auto no-fault reform legislation
Kalamazoo — The Kalamazoo Township Board of Trustees this week added their voice to the debate over proposed changes to Michigan’s auto no-fault system. On Monday, May 13, township trustees adopted a resolution opposing House Bill 4612. The adoption of the resolution comes a week after Rep. Sean McCann and the Coalition Protecting Auto No-Fault held a town hall meeting to discuss the impacts the proposed reforms would have on the state.
The township resolution states that the proposed legislation would “repeal the Michigan no-fault system and replace it with a faulty voluntary system that would leave accident victims with reduced coverage, increase Medicaid and Medicare costs to support victims and produce virtually no proven savings for insurance coverage.”
“People across the state are beginning to realize just how bad this legislation would be for accident survivors and the taxpayers of Michigan,” said CPAN president John Cornack. “CPAN members would like to thank the Kalamazoo Township Board of Trustees for lending their voice to the growing opposition against House Bill 4612.”
The legislation aims to cap lifetime auto injury benefits for Michigan’s most severely injured accident survivors at $1 million. Once severely injured accident survivors hit the $1 million cap, they would be forced to spend down their assets to pay for their injury care before being placed into the Medicaid system. CPAN estimates the cost impact to Michigan taxpayers will be tens of millions of dollars each year.
In addition to the lifetime injury cap, the bill would also impose a government-mandated cap on what insurance companies reimburse to healthcare providers for treating accident victims. Costs at Michigan hospitals ranked 5.6 percent below the national average in 2011. If the fee schedules included in HB 4612 are implemented, the cost to the average Michigan hospital system would be $10 million per year in lost revenue.
Other impacts of the legislation include:
· Limited attendant care provided by families and agencies;
· Denial of services that don’t result in “meaningful and lasting improvement in the injured person’s functional status;”
· Reduced benefits for motorcycle claims;
· Limited non-resident coverage;
· Limited reimbursements to health care providers;
· Limited rehabilitation benefits; and
· Limited home modification benefits.
In return for the caps on care and limited reimbursement for healthcare providers, the legislation includes a one-time cost reduction of $150 for drivers ($12.50 per month). HB 4612 does not include any language to prevent auto insurers from increasing costs the following year.
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The Coalition Protecting Auto No-Fault: The Coalition Protecting Auto No-Fault is a broad-based coalition of consumer advocate groups, lawyers, doctors, hospitals and other health care providers working together to keep Michigan’s model no-fault insurance law intact. Learn more about CPAN by visiting www.ProtectNoFault.org.
