County acts on insurance reform backlash
Mar. 18—TRAVERSE CITY — Brittney Ruckle was 9 years old when she was in a car crash that left her permanently disabled. Brittney uses a wheelchair following the traumatic brain injury, and has other injuries that require her to have 24-hour care.
"All of our lives changed that day," said Kris Ruckle-Mahon, Brittney's mom.
Their lives have changed again with the Michigan No-fault Insurance Reform Act, Ruckle-Mahon said.
"We've made great gains in the last 15 years," she said. "Sadly that changed for us in 2019."
Brittney, her family and caregivers visited the Grand Traverse County Commission meeting Wednesday, where board members unanimously approved a resolution urging the Michigan Legislature to address a reimbursement gap created by the insurance reform.
The new law went into effect in July, leaving many families with inadequate care — care they say they are entitled to by the unlimited catastrophic insurance they carried prior to 2019.
The resolution was brought forward by commissioners Penny Morris and Betsy Coffia, who said it supports two bills in the House and Senate that would amend the new law to keep provider rates at 2019 levels without adding costs to the system.
"It's the right thing to do," said Morris, whose daughter died in a car accident several years ago. "If my daughter had survived her accident we would have been in the same seat."
Coffia said that when the law was passed it was bipartisan and had a good goal of lowering insurance rates.
"What we are dealing with are simply unintended consequences that have caused harm," Coffia said.
Coffia said she has learned from state Rep. John Roth that the legislation has stalled and needs a push by local representatives.
Under the insurance reform act drivers can choose to continue buying unlimited personal injury protection (PIP) coverage, or they can drop to coverage capped at from $50,000 to $500,000. If they are on Medicare they can opt out completely.
Before the change, drivers were required to carry the maximum benefit.
Under the new law auto insurance companies do not have to pay for more than 56 hours per week — or eight hours per day — for in-home, family-provided attendant care. Other changes are a Medicare-based fee schedule that reduces what medical providers can charge for services.
The law is also retroactive, applying to those people who purchased coverage and were injured prior to the insurance reform.
Ruckle-Mahon said her family is one of 18,000 in Michigan and dozens in Grand Traverse County.
"We're just one of those families that we are trying to have a bigger voice in Lansing for," she said. "It's so important because you never know what's going to happen to you and my concern is not only 15 years that we've done this, it's the future accident victims that won't receive the care that we've been blessed to have."
Copies of the resolution will be sent to the governor, state Senate and House majority and minority leaders, GTC delegates to the state legislature and to every county in the state.
