MBIPC Responds to Inaccurate Statements from DIFS Director Fox, Calls for Hearing on Senate Bills That Would End Care Crisis
Judd: ‘Director Fox’s department has formed a partnership with Big Insurance’
BRIGHTON, Mich.—(Feb. 22, 2024)—Tom Judd, executive director of the Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council, today responded to comments made by Anita Fox, director of the Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS), at a Senate committee hearing earlier this week.
Fox answered questions regarding the continued high price Michigan consumers pay for auto insurance. While calling her department’s approval of over $1.5 billion in premium increases in 2023 “reasonably justified,” Director Fox included personal injury protection (PIP) available to consumers as a significant factor in our state’s high rates.
Judd’s statement is below:
“Director Fox stated that Michigan drivers ‘have the highest benefits in the country and if you pick out unlimited, you’re alone in that, and it is a wonderful benefit.’ On the surface, there is nothing inaccurate about this statement – Michigan drivers have historically had the best system in the country for taking care of their injured drivers, and most continue to choose to pay for those benefits. However, an essential follow-up question was not asked: Are drivers able to access those benefits? The answer is a tragically resounding no!
Ever since the 2019 auto insurance reforms, a majority of Michiganders have chosen to keep their unlimited PIP benefits, which should entitle them to coverage for all necessary care for the rest of their lives should they get into a serious car crash. But because of the nearly 50% cut in catastrophic care included in the new law, those benefits have become effectively worthless. What injured drivers are finding out is that the guarantee of quality rehabilitation and care they contracted for with their insurance company is nothing more than empty promises.
While it is disappointing that the state’s self-proclaimed consumer protection agency has refused to acknowledge this reality at every turn, it is hardly surprising. Instead of embracing potential solutions and working to amend the law to ensure drivers have access to care they are paying for, Director Fox’s department has formed a partnership with Big Insurance to spread misinformation to distract and divert attention away from the Crisis in Care.
Fortunately, there are solutions, such as the bill package that passed with bipartisan support in the Senate, that will end this sad chapter in our state’s history. Yet, they have languished in the House Insurance and Financial Services Committee, chaired by Representative Brenda Carter. Every day that goes by, about three more people will be injured in a car crash that will require significant post-acute rehabilitation and care. And every day that goes by, there will be more broken promises to Michigan drivers who contracted with their insurance company for certain levels of care.
There is no reason not to allow the Senate bills to move forward with more public discourse. The advocates who have fought for four years to get to this point and consistently brought forward reasonable solutions deserve the process to continue. If the bills do not advance, it is clear who is to blame: the powerful lobby arm of big auto insurance and those in Lansing who continue to partner with them, ignoring the anguish of injured drivers.”
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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.