Crash Survivors and Advocates Solemnly Mark Five-Year Anniversary of Devastating Auto Insurance Reform
Crash Survivors and Advocates Solemnly Mark Five-Year Anniversary of Devastating Auto Insurance Reform
Lawmakers to be greeted by billboard calling for change as they head to Mackinac
LANSING, Mich.—(May 23, 2024)—As Michigan’s political class prepares to head up north for the annual Mackinac Policy Conference next week, survivors of catastrophic car crashes will be solemnly acknowledging the fifth anniversary of the catastrophic care crisis that has roiled the state in the wake of the 2019 auto insurance reforms.
To remind lawmakers of the suffering they have caused, CPAN has purchased a billboard on northbound I-75, calling on them to take action on a package of bills that would restore care for thousands. The billboard reads: “Lives devastated. Promises broken. Lawmakers must act!”
“For five years, too many lawmakers have chosen to turn their heads away from this crisis,” said Tim Hoste, CPAN president. “They’ve downplayed its impact, catered to the whims of the big auto insurance companies, and have refused to look survivors and their loved ones in the eye, even as they begged for a fix. We want this billboard to be a reminder that we will never stop fighting for the rights of the most vulnerable for as long as this crisis continues.”
In addition to the billboard, CPAN is launching a social media campaign next week to recognize the five-year anniversary of the reform bill, which was signed on Mackinac Island on May 30, 2019, during that year’s Mackinac Policy Conference. The #FiveYearsOfSuffering campaign will highlight the stories of individuals who have passed away over the past five years because the 2019 law took away their care.
Senate Bills 530, 531 and 575—sponsored by State Senators Mary Cavanagh, Sarah Anthony and Jeremy Moss—were passed by the Senate on Oct. 19 last year, receiving bipartisan support. The bills offer narrow fixes to elements of the 2019 auto insurance reforms that have devastated the state’s post-acute care industry, which includes residential rehabilitation, in-home health care, case management and other services for people who need long-term care.
However, the bills have been stalled in the state House of Representatives, where they have yet to receive even a hearing. It has now been more than 200 days since those bills were passed by the Senate—since then, more than 2,100 people have suffered serious injuries in car crashes, according to numbers from the Michigan State Police.
“Once lawmakers return from Mackinac, there are only a few weeks of session left before they leave on their summer breaks,” Hoste said. “To adjourn before a fix is passed and signed by Gov. Whitmer would tarnish the legacy of everyone involved. Let’s end this crisis before more unnecessary suffering occurs. Lawmakers must act.”
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CPAN is a broad bipartisan, Michigan-based coalition whose mission is to be the consumer advocate for auto insurance policyholders, 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. For more information, please visit www.CPAN.us.