An unlikely alliance has formed to overhaul Michigan’s auto no-fault system. Speaker of the House Tom Leonard, R-DeWitt, and Detroit’s mayor Mike Duggan met Tuesday. They say the goal is to bring rate relief to all Michigan drivers.
There’s no word yet on what the plan says about people with catastrophic injuries from car crashes. Right now Michigan is the only state in the U.S. that provides unlimited medical benefits for people in those accidents.
Mayor Duggan said he wants to see a guaranteed rate rollback. And he wants senior citizens to not have to pay for extra medical coverage when they have Medicare.
“Everybody in this state is getting ripped off on their car insurance, but seniors are doubly ripped off,” he said.
Duggan and Leonard have been working on a plan for the last few months. While they would not release specifics about the plan, they could roll it out as early as next week.
“Interestingly, the speaker has almost the same goals for the rest of the state. So our interests appear to be aligned,” Duggan said.
Leonard’s Republican counterpart in the Senate has disagreed with Duggan’s vision for auto no-fault in the past. Leonard said he hasn’t discussed their plan with Arlan Meekhof.
“I can only control what happens here in the House and I am committed to ensuring that we fix this rigged system and deliver rate relief, serious rate relief to the citizens of this state,” he said.
