Senator Wayne Kuipers and other Michigan Senators have buried legislation deep within Senate sub-committees to ensure they won’t see the light of day. Potential laws that could protect children, the elderly, victims of drunk drivers, and those who are mentally incapacitated have been deep-6′d by Kuipers and other Senators and they hope voters like you and me never find out about it.
The Chamber of Commerce, the Insurance Insustry Lobby, and wealthy conservative donors to the Senator’s pockets ensure that these bills won’t see the light of day.
Who wants them to see the light of day?
How about the Michigan State Medical Society, the Michigan Nurses Association, the Brain Injury Association of Michigan, the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, the Michigan Academy of Physician Assistants, the Michigan Association of Chiropractors, the Michigan Dental Association, the Michigan College of Emergency Physicians, the AARP, Michigan Paralyzed Veterans of America, and the Michigan Association for Justice, just to name a few.
So what bills are being suppressed by Senator Kuipers and others in the Senate?
1. A bill that would give infants and children and brain injured individuals who have been injured in auto accidents more than one year to recognize and bring their claim for medical benefits. Michigan law recognizes that children and brain injured individuals need more time to bring their claims and they are allowed this time in every other area of law EXCEPT in cases involving auto accidents.
2. A bill that would give those who have been injured by drunk drivers the right to pursue them for the injuries the drunks caused by their negligence.
3. A bill that would require auto insurance companies to fairly compensate families who are required to stay home to care for family members who have been catastrophically injured in car accidents.
4. A bill that would put an end to auto insurance companies refusing to pay in full/pay at all, medical bills submitted by medical care providers who have rendered treatment to individuals injured in car accidents. This bill gouging by auto insurors ends up putting the balances of those medical bills on the backs of the taxpayers like you and I as Medicaid is forced to pick up the tab that should have been paid by the auto insurance company. No wonder AAA reported a doubling of their profits in 2007 to $104.2 million dollars here in Michigan!
The list goes on and on. If a proposed bill hits the Senate floor and it has anything to do with protecting consumers or is perceived to be against the large corporate and insurance donors, Senator Kuipers and other Senators make sure these bills get buried and never see a vote. If we as individuals had the ability to write the big checks that drug companies, insurance companies and corporations write, we could fight this injustice dollar for dollar. But we don’t.
We have something more powerful than lobbyists and large checks. We have the right to vote. Let Kuipers know that you are watching his voting record. Let him know you won’t stand for his obstructionist approach to legislation. Let him know you are watching and you vote.