The fees Michigan drivers pay each year toward a fund for severely injured accident survivors are about to change next month.
Those Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association fees will drop slightly from $90 to $82 for drivers who choose unlimited personal injury benefits. Meanwhile, they’ll go up a few from $20 to $23 for other benefit levels.
Association Executive Director Kimberly Bezy said that new rate will help account for a roughly $2.1 billion deficit in fund needs.
“We really take a look at how much that is going to be and determine if our current funds are going to sufficient. So, if there is not sufficient money, then we look at any deficit or any shortfall and we actually amortize that about by no less than 15 years,” Bezy said.
Both rates are still substantially cheaper than most years between 2003 and 2021, according to historical assessment data on the MCCA website.
In 2021, new auto insurance changes took effect that no longer required everyone to have unlimited personal injury protection on their insurance. The MCCA, with guidance from Governor Gretchen Whitmer, began sending out $400 rebate checks using what was described as surplus funds.
Advocates for severely injured crash survivors have decried both the policy change and the decision to send out those rebate checks, blaming them for the deficit, and saying they're an indication of a system that does not prioritize necessary care for people with debilitating injuries.
Advocates say it’s been tough for severely injured people to get their claims approved or care paid for by the MCCA.
Maureen Howell, with the group We Can’t Wait, accused the association and its board made up of insurance companies of looking out for themselves.
“Nobody that is a family member or a provider or anyone that would have the ability to understand the situation from the standpoint of survivors is involved in the makeup of the MCCA,” Howell said.
MCCA leadership, however, is maintaining that it is fulfilling its goal of serving the injured.
A press release sent out Monday said the group is approaching the $25 billion mark in total payments since the association’s inception in 1978. Bezy said, since the reforms took effect, payments to survivors have gone up in some areas.
But, at the end of 2023, 15,388 cases remained open. And survivor advocates worry even the unlimited policies aren't actually giving patients access to unlimited care. That’s because of cuts to reimbursement rates for treatment that have driven many care providers out of business.
