Michigan’s brain injury rehabilitation providers call on Michigan Legislature to protect access to care by passing technical fix to auto insurance reform

HB 4486 will protect cost-cutting measures of reform

BRIGHTON, Mich. — (March 12, 2021) — A new bill introduced this week in the Michigan Legislature is needed to protect access to care for thousands of individuals and families, and must be passed into law quickly to prevent mass job layoffs and the closing of brain injury rehabilitation centers throughout the state.

The Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council, which represents health care providers and facilities that care for individuals with severe brain injuries, said HB 4486 is needed to provide a technical fix to the fee schedule passed in 2019 as part of the auto insurance reform package. MBIPC President Tom Judd said that its members’ ability to continue to provide treatment, care and services is in dire jeopardy if the proposed fix is not adopted well in advance of July 1, 2021, when the fee schedule goes into effect.

“Without this bill, it is not hyperbole to say that Michigan’s brain injury rehabilitation industry — which employs thousands of professionals who serve accident victims with unique needs — will be decimated,” Judd said. “We need to act quickly to fix this unintended consequence of auto insurance reform. Failure to do so jeopardizes access to appropriate and specialized care for thousands of individuals and families throughout the state.” 

Under the 2019 auto insurance reform, health care services that do not have a corresponding “Medicare code” — which includes most services provided by brain injury rehabilitation centers — would be required to slash reimbursements by 45%. HB 4486 adds those services to a reimbursement cap system based on 200% of the Medicare reimbursement rate, a key cost-containing component of auto insurance reform.

The 45% cut is also applied to family attendant care, which means that individuals who care for seriously injured family members at home—many of whom need to quit their jobs to care for their loved ones full-time—will be impacted. 

“The issues of access to care doesn’t stop at the clinic and residential home doors – they extend into people’s homes as they try to provide care for their loved ones,” Judd said.

The bill was introduced by Rep. Doug Wozniak of Shelby Township.

“As a fighter for Michigan’s hard-working residents, I refuse to stand by as accident victims and their families lose vital care while rehabilitation professionals face the prospect of pink slips — especially after COVID-19’s impact on our state’s economy,” Wozniak said. “Due to the wording of some technical language in the 2019 legislation, Michigan’s entire post-acute brain injury rehabilitation industry is in jeopardy of collapsing. Why wouldn’t we take a red pen to edit a few words and save an entire industry from shutting down?" 

Judd stressed that the legislation does not add cost to the system, and the legislation does not impact the other cost-cutting measures of auto insurance reform, including choice in the level of Personal Injury Protection benefits, utilization review, anti-fraud efforts, assigned claims caps, and more.

“This bill does not relitigate auto insurance reform,” Judd said. “This is a narrow, focused solution to an unintended consequence of a broad law passed in 2019. HB 4486 will protect the cost-saving measures of reform while ensuring that quality providers can continue providing compassionate, exceptional care.”