#MICareCrisis Impact Dashboard highlights stories of accident victims who are suffering while legislators enjoy their summer breaks

Nearly 700 patients have lost needed care since July 1

BRIGHTON, Mich. – (Aug. 4, 2021) — As legislators enjoy their summer breaks, auto accident victims throughout Michigan are suffering. Tragically, some are losing their lives.

The Aug. 4 edition of the Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council’s #MICareCrisis Impact Dashboard finds that 696 patients have lost needed care since the crisis began on July 1. In addition, at least 1,529 health care jobs have been lost, while at least 41 companies have been rendered unable to care for patients with auto insurance funding. 

The dashboard, which was launched on July 29, tracks key metrics stemming from the fallout of the Legislature’s failure to protect auto accident victims. The dashboard gives legislators, taxpayers, and the media a clear picture of what gravely injured auto accident survivors and their families are now facing since the 55% cap on reimbursements for specialized rehabilitation care went into effect on July 1.

Last week, Michigan Radio interviewed Joyce Mauk, owner of Wellspring Case Management. Mauk said that her 67-year-old client, who had survived two severe auto accidents, was happy and living at home with 24/7 care when the company providing that care went out of business.

"After losing her care, she went into a nursing home and didn't last three weeks," she told Michigan Radio.

“Joyce’s client is not the only survivor to die as a result of the legislature’s lack of action, and she certainly won’t be the last,” said Tom Judd, MBIPC president. “Meanwhile, dollars from the $25 million Taxpayer Appropriation Fund—a program which was intended to help providers stave off closure but in reality uses taxpayer dollars to prop up insurance companies—has yet to materialize, and won't be available for months. We need a permanent fix to end this disaster.”

This week’s dashboard also highlights John Wicke, a 52-year-old from Corunna who was left paralyzed from a car crash, relies on 24-hour care to survive, but after the fee schedule went into effect his care was upended. A vulnerable patient, he relies on his care team and ventilator to live. John’s home health care agency searched for a facility to give him care, but none were available due to the #MICareCrisis. Now, he’s been in the hospital since last week with nowhere else to turn. 

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. The only action taken was the passing of Senate Bill 28, a bill that offers no solution for most survivors and unnecessarily utilizes $25 million in taxpayer dollars for a problem created by a draconian government-mandated price fix.

Judd noted that many of the legislators who refused to consider a long-term fix said they needed more data to be persuaded. The #MICareCrisis dashboard will capture that data, as well as the heartbreaking personal stories of survivors and their families scrambling as the care they were promised is ripped away. The dashboard will be updated—and sent to legislators—every Wednesday.

“As the days and weeks go on, we are confident that Michigan’s leaders will see that continued inaction in the face of this crisis is inhumane and unacceptable,” Judd said. “The Legislature has the power to end this travesty right now. MBIPC looks forward to being an active partner in the process to find a viable, long-term solution.”  

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

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.

📈The numbers continue to rise as Michigan Legislators ignore the fact that auto-accident survivors need and deserve continued care. The week two dashboard shows the detrimental effects that come with their lack of action. #MICareCrisis