Sen. Curtis Hertel, Jr. Calls on Legislature to Protect Accident Victims’ Access to Essential Acute Care Rehabilitation

Bill offers technical fix to auto insurance reform while preserving lower costs

BRIGHTON, Mich.—(March 24, 2021)— The Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council today applauded a new bill introduced in the Michigan Legislature that will protect access to specialized rehabilitation for thousands of residents, and called for its quick passage to avoid chaos for patients and providers. 

Senate Bill 314, introduced by Senator Curtis Hertel, Jr., of East Lansing, will fix an unintended consequence of the 2019 auto insurance law: a fee schedule that cuts insurance coverage for care of catastrophic injuries. If allowed to go unchecked, these drastic cuts will force small businesses to close, giving thousands of front line workers the pink slip and throwing patients and their families into disarray.

“We can protect access to care while still maintaining the cost-controlling measures passed as part of the new auto insurance law,” Hertel said. “Without a fix, patients injured in horrific car accidents—often through no fault of their own—will be left without the care that they have relied on. The people of Michigan deserve better and I’m fighting to make sure this wrong gets righted.”

MBIPC, which represents health care professionals and facilities that care for people with severe brain injuries, recently conducted a statewide survey to measure the potential impact that the fee schedule scheduled to go into effect after July 1would have. The results were dire: a staggering 86% of post-acute care facilities have no or very little confidence that they can continue to operate their businesses. Meanwhile, there are roughly 6,000 patients expected to lose care if their providers are forced to close.

MBIPC president Tom Judd said that if SB 314 doesn’t pass, MBIPC members’ ability to continue to provide treatment, care, and services is in tremendous jeopardy. 

“Without the fix this bill provides, it’s not hyperbole to say that Michigan’s brain injury rehabilitation industry, which employs thousands of people serving patients with unique and complicated needs, will be decimated,” Judd said. “We need to listen to those on the front lines who are caring for these vulnerable patients—they have first-hand, day-to-day knowledge of what these survivors need to thrive.”

Momentum for a fee schedule fix continues to build. A similar bill—House Bill 4486—was recently introduced in the state House of Representatives.