LANSING, Mich. — State Sen. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, issued the following statement on Thursday after the Michigan Court of Appeals declared that fee cuts prescribed by the state’s 2019 no-fault auto insurance reform do not apply retroactively for medical providers serving victims of crashes that occurred before the law change:
“This court decision will provide long-awaited relief for many Michiganders catastrophically injured in auto accidents. These individuals have been faced with uncertainty and despair since the implementation of a government-mandated cap on what certain providers could be paid to deliver care for auto accident victims.
“While the 2019 no-fault insurance overhaul was sorely needed to provide Michigan drivers with relief from paying the highest auto insurance rates in the entire country, the arbitrary cap was a byproduct that needed to be addressed. When the original bill was signed into law, I and others acknowledged there would likely come a time when tweaks and changes to the new law would be needed. I hope this decision will provide a path for lawmakers to come together in a bipartisan way once again to find a long-term solution that keeps our contractual commitments to those who need care and ensures much-needed insurance rate relief for Michigan drivers.”
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