The Michigan Senate has taken an initial step toward overhauling Michigan’s no-fault auto insurance system.
The legislation would set limits on what hospitals could charge insurance companies. It would also cap what insurers can be charged for in-home care for people severely injured in car accidents.
“The best approach to bringing down insurance rates in Michigan is to get costs out of the system ,” said state Senate Insurance Committee Chairman Joe Hune, R-Hamburg.
But Democrats say patient care will suffer and there’s no promise to make insurance more affordable.
“There is nothing in this bill that rolls back rates or even guarantees a rollback in rates! Nothing!” said state Sen. Coleman Young, D-Detroit.
There is also a spending provision in one of the bills that would ensure a new insurance law could not be repealed by a voter referendum.
The bills now go the state House.
