Michigan’s catastrophic care crisis affects everyone.

In 2019, a new auto insurance law effectively cut reimbursements for survivors of catastrophic car crashes in half—a move that has created an ongoing and expanding crisis of care for our state. What does that mean?

  • More than 7,000 of our state’s most vulnerable have had their care cruelly ripped away, including people with traumatic brain injuries, people who are quadriplegic, and people on ventilators.

  • More than 4,000 health care jobs have been lost, as the cut in care forced providers to drastically scale down staff or even close their doors entirely.

  • With nowhere left to turn, many survivors ended up in emergency rooms and hospital beds—sometimes for weeks at a time. These unnecessary visits raise health care costs for everybody.

  • Long-term care options are now exceedingly scarce—not only for future survivors of catastrophic accidents but also for seniors, people with disabilities, those with chronic health conditions like cancer or multiple sclerosis, and more.  

  • Exhausted and overwhelmed family members have been forced to become full-time caregivers for their catastrophically injured loved ones, even though they are not fully compensated for this difficult and dangerous work. Many have lost their jobs, lost their homes, and have been forced to declare bankruptcy. This has moved entire families from private funding to Medicaid, increasing costs for all Michigan taxpayers.

“There were 51,066 injury crashes in Michigan in 2022. A person was injured every seven minutes and 23 seconds.”
— Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning

Unmitigated suffering for those who have already suffered so much. A less efficient and more expensive health care system. Communities with fewer good-paying jobs putting dollars into the local economy. A decimated long-term care industry impacting broad swaths of the population.

The Michigan care crisis needs to end. You can help.

The Michigan Senate has passed a bipartisan package of bills—Senate Bills 530, 531 and 575—that provide the solutions that crash survivors, caregivers, disability advocates, and others have called for. They offer a narrow fix to the 2019 law that replaces the nearly 50 percent cut in care with a fee schedule that would bring stability, reliability and predictability to the system. They also address the hourly limits and reimbursement caps on family provided attendant care.

However, the House of Representatives has yet to vote on these bills.

Here’s what you can do to end the #MICareCrisis and ensure these bills get passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Whitmer.

Step 1: Call your legislator

Calling your lawmaker is the single most important thing you can do to make a difference. You can find your state representative here and your state senator here.

Here are a few tips for when you call: 

  • Begin by stating your name and identifying yourself, your address, and why you care about ending the #MICareCrisis

  • Deliver a brief and simple message, including a strong call to action. For example, “I am asking the Senator to make ending Michigan’s care crisis a priority and work to ensure Senate Bills 530, 531 and 575 are passed and signed into law.”

  • Always be courteous, even if you disagree with their response.

  • Leave a phone number and email address where you can be reached; offer to provide more information about the issue.

  • If the proper person isn’t available, leave a message or voicemail with your main points, and request a call back.  

Step 2: Write your legislator

Sending your lawmaker a letter or an email is a great way to send a personal message and to let them know what is important to their constituents. You can find your state representative here and your state senator here.

There are two ways you can write your legislators.

First, you can send them an email via VoterVoice. Three prewritten email templates are available: general, survivor/family member, and provider, but be sure to personalize and add your story.

You can also send a handwritten letter. Letters can be sent to legislators’ offices in Lansing (all representatives and all senators have the same address, so make sure you indicate which legislator you want to reach by including their name).

  • Representative xxxx
    PO Box 30014
    Lansing, MI 48909-7514

  • Senator xxxx
    P.O. Box 30036
    Lansing, MI 48909-7536

Here are a few tips for when you write your message.

  • Begin by stating your name and identifying yourself, your address, and why you care about ending the #MICareCrisis.

  • State a brief and simple message, including a strong call to action. For example, “I am asking the Senator to make ending Michigan’s care crisis a priority and work to ensure Senate Bills 530, 531 and 575 are passed and signed into law.”

  • Tell your story, explain your connection to the issue and why you care about the #MICareCrisis.

  • Be concise and courteous.

  • Sign with a thank you, offer to provide more information about the issue and include your phone number and email.

 

Step 3: Share Information with friends and family

Share information on the #MICareCrisis, such as this website, with your friends, family, co-workers or anyone else who may be interested.

This website has a list of the hundreds of news stories that have been published over the past several years. You may want to send some of these on to your networks.

Remember, this crisis ultimately affects everybody!


Step 4: Share on social media

Connect with organizations that support ending the Michigan care crisis. Follow organizations such as:

Share a post from one of these organizations, or write your own. Make sure you use the #MICareCrisis hashtag!

 

Step 5: Attend a coffee hour

Attend legislator’s coffee hours to discuss the end to the #MICareCrisis. Coffee Hours are a way to meet face-to-face with your legislator in an informal setting.

See a list of upcoming legislator coffee hours here.

Here are a few tips for attending a coffee hour:

  • Begin by stating your name and identifying yourself, your address, and why you care about ending the #MICareCrisis.

  • Deliver a brief and simple message about why you are there, including a strong call to action. For example, “I’m here to discuss Michigan’s care crisis and ask you to prioritize working to ensure Senate Bills 530, 531 and 575 are passed and signed into law.”

  • Tell your story, explain your connection to the issue and why you care about the #MICareCrisis.

  • Always be concise and courteous, even if you disagree with their response. Expect to have no more than 5 minutes of their time.

  • Come prepared with notes, handouts or articles that you’d like to share or that may help you guide the conversation.

  • Thank them for their time.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • The Andary Supreme Court decision only helps crash survivors injured before the new law went into effect and who are drawing their benefits under a household policy of insurance (i.e. a policy purchased by themselves or a resident relative). Survivors injured after June 11, 2019 (including anyone injured in the future) and/or those who are not drawing benefits under a household policy (such as motorcyclists, pedestrians, and Michigan Assigned Claims Plan claimants) will still be held to the arbitrary and devastating limitations placed on care reimbursements and attendant care. Learn more here.

  • Claims from the auto insurance industry that rates have declined are greatly exaggerated. Rates for many drivers have actually gone up, with insurers socking consumers with nearly a half-billion in rate increases in 2022 alone. Michigan remains one of the most expensive states to purchase auto insurance, especially in communities like Detroit, where insurance companies use credit scores to unfairly discriminate against drivers.

  • No. In fact, this fee schedule fix for long-term cost factors brings down costs by reducing unnecessary delays and litigation.

  • Supporters include the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, Michigan Home Care and Hospice Association, Brain Injury Association of Michigan, Michigan Trauma Coalition, Brain Injury Association of Michigan, Interfaith Coalition of Michigan, Disability Network Michigan, CPAN, We Can’t Wait, and the Michigan Association for Justice. A statewide poll in 2022 found that two-thirds of Michigan voters support a fix to end the care crisis.

Resources

Learn more about the #MICareCrisis from these organizations:

“There are approximately 1,000 catastrophic car crashes every year.”
— Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association

  • CPAN (the consumer advocate for auto insurance policy holders, those who have been injured in a motor vehicle crash and the medical providers caring for them, representing them at the Capitol, in the courts, and in the public forum)

  • Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council (a trade association committed to providing high quality, ethical rehabilitation services, with the mission of achieving the best outcomes for patients)

  • Brain Injury Association of Michigan (an association dedicated to improving the lives of those affected by brain injury and reducing the incidence and impact of brain injury through advocacy, education, and support)

  • We Can’t Wait (A grassroots advocacy action group for catastrophically injured survivors, family, and friends)

  • Michigan Interfaith Coalition (a group of religious leaders and organizations focusing attention on the moral responsibility of elected legislators and demanding respect for the dignity of the catastrophically injured, suffering survivors)

Hear from survivors:

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