September 18th-29th, 2023

Senators Mary Cavanagh (D-Redford Township) and Sarah Anthony (D-Lansing) introduced Bills 530 and 531 to amend the 2019 Auto No-Fault Law that restricted the reimbursement amount for health care services. The two bills would restructure the reimbursement process within Medicaid, increase the reimbursement rate for services to 250% of what Medicaid pays, and create a non-Medicaid fee schedule. The bill also outlines that insurance companies need to pay for individual caregivers for up to 16 hours per day as well as a change to the accreditation requirement. These changes are for those who were in an auto accident on and after June 22, 2019.

House Bill 4397 of 2019 was signed on June 22, 2019, and intended to amend Michigan’s no fault auto insurance law. The 2019 bill removed a portion of this law that made car owners pay for Personal Injury Protection that paid for unlimited injury costs after a catastrophic car accident. This allowed drivers to not pay for this provision and choose the level of protection they want. However, the 2019 auto insurance bill lowered the amount insurance companies had to pay by up to 45% and limited access to health care services. Auto accident survivors found themselves not able to either pay for their services or being denied by services due to their insurance provider.

The Democratic Senators hope that Bills 530 and 531 will increase accessibility to these health care services. These bills were introduced on September 26 and have been referred to the Committee on Finance, Insurance, and Consumer Protection, which is chaired by one of the bill sponsors, Senator Cavanagh.

On September 20, the Michigan Supreme Court declined to hear the Attorney General’s appeals to the Flint Water case, citing that they were not persuaded to hear the appeals which called for the Supreme Court to overturn the dismissal of the case from a lower court.

Back in January 2021, Jarrod Agen, Gerald Ambrose, Richard Baird, Darnell Earley, Nicolas Lyon, Nancy Peeler, Richard Snyder, and Eden Wells were charged with counts ranging from perjury, misconduct tin office, willful neglect of duty, to involuntary manslaughter. However, because of the one-man jury trial used by the Attorney General, these charges were dropped after the Supreme Court considered them unconstitutional three years ago.

The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) continues to encourage Michigan residents to get tested for COVID-19. Residents can get COVID-19 tests delivered to their homes. COVIDTests.gov will guide you to a website that gives you up to four free COVID-19 tests. Residents can still get tested in-person and can get more information on where to get tested here.

MDHHS recommends residents to have a plan to prevent the spread of COVID-19 whether that be having tests on hand, masks at home, and/or quarantine measures. Testing is still highly encouraged to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Michigan’s House of Representatives hosted its first-ever charity softball game on September 20 at Jackson Field in downtown Lansing.

The softball game was a short 5 innings with the Democrats and Republicans matching up against one another. The Republican caucus scored 7 points in the first inning, and later won the game with a 15-9 lead. The baseball game was mirrored off the Congressional baseball game in Washington D.C. that promotes bipartisanship and community needs. This year, the House donated $20,520 to the City Rescue Misson of Lansing, a local homeless shelter.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer appointed Captain James F. Grady II as the new director of Michigan State Police (MSP).

Captain Grady has been in MSP for over a decade as the section commander of the Fraud Investigation team, assistant division commander of the Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division and was promoted to the director from a leadership position in the Training department.