Governor Sidesteps Chance to Support a Direct, Permanent Solution for Accident Victims by Signing SB 28 — A Mirage of a Fix — into Law
Governor Sidesteps Chance to Support a Direct, Permanent Solution for Accident Victims by Signing SB 28 — A Mirage of a Fix — into Law
Senate Bill 28 places onerous reporting requirements, significantly limits funds to individual providers, meaning support will be too little and too late to help preserve access to care for the vulnerable
BRIGHTON, Mich. – (July 15, 2021) — Gov. Gretchen Whitmer today signed into law Senate Bill 28, legislation that establishes a program to provide minimal support to businesses that provide specialized rehabilitative care to auto accident victims on the brink of closing.
“SB 28 is a mirage of a solution — look closely, and you see it’s a program that unnecessarily utilizes taxpayer dollars for a problem created by a draconian government-mandated price fix,” said Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council President Tom Judd. “The program established by this legislation dangles support that, in practice, won’t materialize for months, and once it does come, won’t close the funding gap businesses face today.”
This legislative session, four bills have been introduced that would provide the narrow, technical fix needed for a permanent solution to this small but vital aspect of the 2019 auto reforms: HB 4486, HB 4992, HB 5125 and SB 314. None, however, were allowed hearings in the face of fierce lobbying from the auto insurance industry.
The governor’s signature comes after the Senate and House adjourned for summer break, and Judd said the Legislature must commit to passing a long-term fix when returning in the fall.
“MBIPC looks forward to being an active partner in the process to find a viable solution that works,” Judd said. “Meanwhile, as lawmakers relax with their families, it will be a devastating summer for accident victims, as they scramble to find increasingly limited care options while providers continue to discharge patients that they can no longer adequately support.”
Judd noted the following:
· The brain injury community voiced its deep concerns, but the final version of Senate Bill 28 demonstrates a lack of investment in those concerns.
· SB 28 delays the discussion of a long-term solution, at the expense of companies that will close or significantly downsize in coming weeks.
· Due to a $500,000 cap per provider and an overall budget of $25 million — far less than needed to close the funding gap — this program will not come close to providing the legislature a clear picture of the impact of the 55% cap, which is what legislative leaders said they wanted to better understand with this program.
· The sample size that will be collected will be invalid and unreliable due to inconsistency on provider participation (due to timeframe for “assistance” disbursement, the burden of participation, and cap on reimbursement level) and the unaccounted patients that will lose access to care because the cost of their care could not be reimbursed for with this program.
“By signing this legislation into law, Gov. Whitmer demonstrates that she is not showing consistent concern for the healthcare heroes she says she respects and wants to elevate,” Judd said. “Caretakers of survivors of catastrophic auto accidents are people who provide life-sustaining care, including through the pandemic—and are now being laid off, forced to find another job.”
Based on data from the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association (MCCA), the reimbursement cap on specialized rehabilitation services without a Medicare code that goes into effect on July 1 will create a funding gap of at least $350 million every year for survivors of catastrophic auto accidents. Furthermore, instead of finding a long-term solution that reasonably utilizes the $23 billion in the MCCA, which every driver has paid into, the Legislature is choosing to subsidize that fund with taxpayer dollars, with little to no meaningful result.
Already, post-acute providers are preparing to close down or discharge their auto insurance-funded patients in anticipation of the new reimbursement cap, in many cases leaving patients—including some of the most vulnerable and severely disabled residents in the state—with no viable place to go. According to data being collected by the MBIPC, the sudden loss of care risks displacing at least 678 patients this summer. Nearly 1,500 frontline healthcare heroes are expected to lose their jobs when caregiver businesses are forced to close or significantly downsize. These numbers are guaranteed to escalate over the coming months.
“The question for the Legislature and Governor to consider over the summer – how many patients and caregiver jobs is too many? For the real people being harmed throughout the state, whose lives will be turned upside down, the answer should be one,” Judd said.