As Gov. Whitmer prepares for the State of the State address, Crain’s Detroit Business is latest to call for an end to #MICareCrisis
Crain’s joins editorial boards, local governments, nonprofits and more
BRIGHTON, Mich.—(Jan. 24, 2022)—As Gov. Gretchen Whitmer prepares to give her State of the State address this Wednesday, a growing constellation of editorial boards, local governments, nonprofits, trade organizations and more are calling on her and the state Legislature to end Michigan’s catastrophic care crisis.
“This Wednesday, all eyes will be on Gov. Whitmer,” said Tom Judd, president of the Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council. “Auto crash victims across the state need her to show real leadership and use her bully pulpit to demand a reasonable and narrow fix to the auto insurance law that’s devastated so many families.”
The editorial board of Crain’s Detroit Business—the most influential business publication in the state—was the latest to weigh in, writing in an editorial last Friday that “it's time for the state Legislature to address this literal life-and-death problem.”
Crain’s joins the editorial board of the Traverse City Record-Eagle, which in August 2021 noted that “the worst predicted side-effects of Michigan’s 2019 car insurance reform are coming true” adding that “the consequences we’re watching unfold simply aren’t acceptable.”
In addition, Michigan’s two largest counties—Wayne and Oakland—have unanimously passed resolutions calling on the Legislature to pass a fix to the 45% cut in care for those who have suffered catastrophic injuries in car crashes. In a news release, Wayne County Commission Vice Chair Joseph Palamara noted that “as a result, there are 18,000 Michigan residents, including many here in Wayne County, who cannot get the kind of care they need.”
Judd said that these organizations are only the latest to point out the need to address the growing humanitarian crisis in Michigan. The University of Michigan Poverty Solutions Center’s December 2021 Building on Michigan’s Auto Insurance Reform Law analysis found that “the method used to cap medical fees may be unnecessarily stringent and out of line with national peers, causing a crisis in access to care for victims of catastrophic accidents.”
Other supporters include the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, the Michigan Assisted Living Association, Disability Rights Michigan, the Michigan Occupational Therapy Association, the Michigan League for Public Policy, the Michigan Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, the Michigan Developmental Disabilities Council, the Michigan HomeCare and Hospice Association, the Michigan League of Bicyclists, and more.