FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Rose Tantraphol
Moonsail North
rose@moonsailnorth.com
517.775.2152
MBIPC Reacts to House Speaker Wentworth’s Statement Regarding
Legislation to Fix the #MICareCrisis
Judd: Wentworth ‘walking away from the scene of an accident with smoke
smoldering and crash victims writhing in need of help’
BRIGHTON, Mich.—(March 16, 2022)—House Speaker Jason Wentworth today said that he will
not entertain fixes to Michigan’s auto reform law for the rest of the 2021-2022 term, according
to Michigan Information & Research Service Inc. (MIRS). “At this point, it’s time to move on,”
Wentworth is reported to have said.
The following statement can be attributed to Tom Judd, president of the Michigan Brain Injury
Provider Council:
“Speaker Wentworth’s comments come two weeks after an interfaith memorial was held just
across the street from his office, where family members, friends and loved ones remembered
five individuals who died after their care was ripped away due to auto insurance reform. Today,
the speaker sealed the fate of more vulnerable survivors who will lose their care.
Without a fix to the 45% cut in care, more and more patients will be discharged with nowhere
to go—these are patients who are on ventilators, who need to be turned every few hours to
avoid deadly bedsores, who cannot shower without assistance. Meanwhile, the ‘savings’
alleged by the Speaker are a mirage—advocates will be releasing more information in the
coming days showing how auto insurance is a failure for everyone but insurance companies.
Dozens of lawmakers, on both sides of the aisle, wanted a fair chance to protect these survivors
and vote for a narrow and reasonable fix. Instead, several bills offering a reasonable solution
never got so much as a fair committee hearing. Today, the Speaker ended the chance for a
public dialogue where facts, data, and real life situations would be discussed in a public forum.
Sadly, the Speaker caved to the auto insurance industry lobby, who worked hard to prevent any
public hearing on this matter, and declined to give legislators the opportunity to have their
voices heard in an up-or-down vote.
“What Speaker Wentworth is doing is akin to walking away from the scene of an accident with
smoke smoldering and crash victims writhing in need of help. He can try to quiet providers and
the accident victims who only want the care they have been promised—care they paid to have
by paying their auto insurance premiums. And sadly more providers will go out of business and
more individuals and families will suffer; however, I vow on behalf of those who are fighting for
justice, fairness, and human dignity, that we will redouble our efforts to end the Michigan Care
Crisis.”
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Members of the Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council are committed to providing high quality, ethical
rehabilitation services, with the mission of achieving the best outcomes for patients. As a trade association
established in 1987 and based in Brighton, Michigan, MBIPC offers resource-sharing, information exchange,
professional development and education, advocacy for brain injury standards of care and legislation protecting
Michigan families, and the promotion of ethical conduct. For more information, go to mbipc.org
https://www.mbipc.org, and connect with MBIPC on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
