LANSING, Mich. — In a 2-1 decision, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that the state's 2019 no-fault insurance reform does not apply retroactively.
The judges say it was not the legislatures intention to change care promised to those injured prior to 2019, and even if it were, that would violate the contract clause in the state's constitution.
The reform instituted a fee schedule and a 56 hour cap on in home care hours for treatment of catastrophic accident victims. The measures were intended to curb overcharging and price gouging. In the 13 months since the reform too effect, drivers in Michigan have seen reduces premiums and $400 refunds, but those dollars have come with an immense cost.
Injury care providers have been forced to close their doors as money from no-fault insurance dried up, and survivors who depended on care were left in the dark.
According to the Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council's care crisis dashboard, more than 6,800 patients lost care because of the reform. More than 4,000 healthcare jobs have been lost, and survivors and advocates for a change to that reform say lives have been lost because accident victims couldn't afford the care they were promised through the state's previous system.
"For people to be even able to get to where they were in 2018 is going to take years to do. as far as care and obtaining services. Those doors, those companies, those doors that have shut, they can't just reopen." said Melissa Springsteen, a crash survivor paralyzed in 1993.
Springsteen says she's ecstatic about the ruling, but will only be able to celebrate it for a short time before reality shows itself again. She's still unsure what the future holds for her and fellow crash survivors, especially as an appeal in the state's supreme court is on the horizon.
"The big thing that we need to do is to get the legislature to put it on the floor for a vote and fix the things that they got wrong for this reform," she said.
As tremendous as the impact on the catastrophically injured has been, parts of the reform did save drivers money. According to the Department of Insurance and Financial services, the insurance industry saw a billion dollar reduction in premiums in the year following the reform. Much of that stems from the required reductions to each level of no-fault personal injury protection.
"There were mandated costs reductions all the way through and if you had unlimited, you still got a 10% reduction minimum," said Anita Fox, the department's director. "In every single category, all the rates that have been filed have exceeded the minimum reduction."
Fox agrees that the future of no-fault in Michigan is uncertain, but she promised that her agency will fight to ensure everyone gets the care they're entitled to, as well as working to save drivers money.
"If they were to seek a premium increase, [insurers] would file their rates with us, we would review them with outside actuaries to determine if the increased costs that they report actually justify increased premiums," Fox said.
The Insurance Alliance of Michigan has already announced plans to appeal Thursday's ruling, saying in a statement:
“The medical fee schedule established by these bipartisan auto no-fault reforms is absolutely critical because it reins in overcharging by medical providers and brings fairness, common sense and transparency to the costs of medical care. Reforms have lowered costs and saved Michiganders more than $5 billion over the past three years through reductions in the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association fees and a $400 per-vehicle refund, in addition to the mandatory reductions in the personal injury protection (PIP) portion of insurance policies. While today’s court ruling is a setback for drivers, Michiganders have come too far to turn back to the days of unaffordable auto insurance, fraud and rampant medical overcharging."
Springsteen plans to continue fighting, and she's not alone in that spirit. Hundreds of accident victims have repeatedly filled the Lansing's Capitol rotunda multiple times a month with a motto of 'We Can't Wait', saying that No-Fault insurance needs to be fixed for accident survivors.
"I went up against the semi, and I'm still here," Springsteen said. "The people that are survivors of their auto accidents, we've seen worse than than what the legislator can throw at us."
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