Auto insurance change to leave brain, spinal cord patients without care, say advocates
By Taryn Asher and David Komer online producer
Published
FOX 2 - A virtual protest filled the email inboxes of the governor, lawmakers and media from the families of vulnerable patients, the rehab centers, and skilled nursing care facilities that will likely go out of business with the changes to state auto insurance that will go into effect July 1st. It s literally a matter of quality of life and ultimately, a matter of life and death, said Tom Constand, Brain Injury Association of Michigan. These people will be discharged from hospitals with no place to go. They won t be able to go to rehab providers who can no longer afford and sustain their businesses.
Credit Tracy Samilton / Michigan Radio
Some companies that provide rehabilitation services for people catastrophically injured in car accidents are planning to shut their doors as of July 1.
That s when a 45% cut in medical reimbursements that was included in the 2019 changes to Michigan s auto insurance law takes effect. We can t absorb the 45% pay cut and stay in business, says Randal Bruce, President of Aspire Rehabilitation Services, a residential treatment center in Troy. The agency provides everything from housing to physical therapy to counseling. It s just impossible. We looked at everything we could, there s just no way to do it.
As of June 30, Aspire s 20 residents will need to find other places to live that can provide care for their traumatic injuries, and the company s 50 employees will be out of work.
Michigan s no-fault reform could hurt those who need rehabilitation; advocates push for fix
Advocates desperately push for legislative fix before new no-fault fee schedule takes effect July 1.
and last updated 2021-05-07 23:36:50-04
LANSING, Mich. â The no-fault auto insurance reforms passed in Michigan in 2019 had an unintended side effect: They cut money for specialized rehabilitation services.
Now advocates and families are desperately working to get new legislation passed before the change takes effect.
Prior to 2019, Michigan required that auto insurance provide unlimited lifetime medical coverage for people seriously injured in accidents. That helped to support rehabilitation service providers across the state.
Kalamazoo, MI, USA / WKZO | Everything Kalamazoo | 590 AM · 106.9 FM
Mar 15, 2021 5:05 PM
Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Dr. Joneigh Khaldun speak during a conference on 2-9-21. (Photo courtesy of the Office of Governor Gretchen Whitmer).
LANSING, MI (WKZO AM/FM) Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) are the leading causes of injury-related death and disability in the United States, and 155 people die every day on average.
As a result, Governor Gretchen Whitmer is proclaiming March 2021 as âBrain Injury Awareness Monthâ to promote awareness of brain injuries. She made the announcement on Monday.
According to Whitmer’s office, falls are the leading cause of TBI (40%) in the United States and cause more than half of all TBIs in children ages 0 to 14 years. Falls cause 81% of TBIs among adults aged 65 and older.
SOM
Governor Whitmer proclaims March as Brain Injury Awareness month
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Chelsea Wuth, 517-241-2112
LANSING, Mich. – Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) are the leading causes of injury-related death and disability in the United States, and 155 people die every day on average. As a result, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is proclaiming March 2021 as “Brain Injury Awareness Month” to promote awareness of brain injuries.
Falls are the leading cause of TBI (40%) in the United States and cause more than half of all TBIs in children ages 0 to 14 years. Falls cause 81% of TBIs among adults aged 65 and older. Other leading and preventable causes of TBI include being struck by an object or person, motor vehicle crashes and substance abuse.