‘Boom, you’re no longer covered’ – the #MICareCrisis continues to grow in unexpected ways

Impact Dashboard finds 746 survivors losing care and 1,545 health care jobs lost

BRIGHTON, Mich. – (Sept. 29, 2021) — Paul Becker was well on his way toward a full recovery after a devastating auto accident. Then the #MICareCrisis happened.
 
"I was struck by a pickup truck backing out of a driveway … the hitch went through my right-lower extremity, and severely broke the leg in multiple places,” the Kalamazoo-area resident told Fox 17 Grand Rapids reporter Michael Martin about his July 2018 accident. “I think I've had nine surgeries in total, and still trying to recover from the mobility aspect.”
 
Paul’s insurance was covering the rehabilitation and other care he needed—at least until July of this year, when the 45% reimbursement cut to catastrophic care went into effect. But Paul’s therapy wasn’t just cut in half—it was eliminated completely.
 
“Eight o'clock in the evening, they left a message stating that, at that time, anything forward from now on will no longer be covered, and it was just out of the blue, boom, you're no longer covered for anything,” he said. “I feel like with this last six weeks without any physical therapy, I've literally gone backwards.”
 
MBIPC President Tom Judd said cases like Paul’s show how the #MICareCrisis is expanding in unexpected ways.

“There's been a lot of delays, and denials, and payments on a whole, and not just the providers that we've been talking about for the past few months, in terms of residential and attendant care providers, but outpatient therapists are getting denied or slashed in reimbursement,” he told Fox 17

Becker is one of many affected by the #MICareCrisis. Today’s edition of the dashboard finds that 746 patients have lost vital care since the crisis began on July 1. In addition, at least 1,545 health care jobs have been lost, while at least 45 companies have been rendered unable to care for patients whose providers are reimbursed through their no-fault auto insurance policies.  

The dashboard, which was launched on July 29, tracks key metrics stemming from the fallout due to changes in Michigan’s no-fault insurance law, which gutted reimbursement rates for those providing post-acute care to auto accident survivors. The dashboard gives legislators, taxpayers, and the media a

Last legislative session, bills were introduced that would have provided the narrow, technical legislative fix needed for a permanent solution to the 55% reimbursement cap. None, however, were allowed hearings in the face of fierce lobbying from the auto insurance industry.

Judd noted that many of the legislators who refused to consider a long-term fix, like Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, said they needed more data to be persuaded that the fee schedule would have a detrimental effect on Michigan’s 18,000 no-fault accident victims. The #MICareCrisis dashboard captures that data, as well as the heartbreaking personal stories of survivors and their families who are now scrambling as the care they were promised, is ripped away. The dashboard will be updated—and sent to legislators—every Wednesday. 

“Until lawmakers stand with constituents and take action, horrific stories about what this new law is doing to Michigan residents will continue to accumulate,” Judd said. “Only the legislature has the power to undo this catastrophe. What will it take to end the suffering of these deeply vulnerable constituents?”

The dashboard can be viewed at mbipc.org/dashboard.

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Members of the Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council are committed to providing high-quality, ethical rehabilitation services, with the mission of achieving the best outcomes for patients. As a trade association established in 1987 and based in Brighton, Michigan, MBIPC offers resource-sharing, information exchange, professional development and education, advocacy for brain injury standards of care and legislation protecting Michigan families, and the promotion of ethical conduct. For more information, go to mbipc.org https://www.mbipc.org, and connect with MBIPC on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.