Yesterday, the Michigan Supreme Court did away with the long-held rule of protecting minors and the infirm in no-fault claims. This legal issue has literally been a political ping-pong match with the balance of the court changing so much since 1999. Since 1973 — when the no-fault act was enacted — it had always been the rule to protect this class of persons.
In 2006, however, AAA of Michigan got its request granted when the new court created a new rule that no longer protected minors and the infirm. This directly impacted medical providers because their unpaid claims approaching one year were now at risk. If not paid or a lawsuit filed, those unpaid claims became barred under no-fault. Resorting to Medicare or Medicaid or writing off as bad debt were the only remaining options.
The old no-fault law protecting this class of persons was restored in 2010 when the U of M Hospital challenged the new rule. But now the political ping pong has been hit back in Joseph v ACIA . Once again, children, the infirm and their medical service providers must adhere to the one-year-back-rule for no-fault claims.
