The Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO) recently updated its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) regarding the Earned Sick Time Act. The updates offer additional information on provisions of the law and guidance on how employers and employees can navigate its implementation.

The Michigan House of Representatives recently passed the Workforce Opportunity Wage Act (HB4001) and the Earned Sick Time Act (HB4002) to address challenges with the state’s minimum wage and paid sick time laws due to take effect on February 21. The Senate Regulatory Reform Committee adopted its version of a paid sick leave bill, Senate Bill 15, last week, and the bill is set to be debated in a Senate Regulatory Affairs Committee today, February 12.

The 2019 auto no-fault reforms reduced reimbursement rates for in-home care by at least 45%, making it difficult for auto accident victims to access essential home care. Senate Bills 530, 531, and 535 have been introduced to address this issue and have already passed in the Senate. They are pending in the Michigan House, where no action has been taken yet. Your help is needed to move these bills forward—please CLICK HERE to fill out a Voter Voice action alert and ask your member of the Michigan House of Representatives to support the bills. The message is prewritten, so all you need to do is add your name and address.

State lawmakers in Michigan returned to Lansing on Tuesday, December 3 to close out the lame duck period, which will mark the end of Michigan Democrats' full control of the House, Senate, and Governor's Office. In the final days of the 2024 legislative session, HCAOA is hard at work to advance a solution for the cuts home care providers have experienced as a consequence of automobile insurance premium reform.

On Monday, the Michigan Supreme Court, in an opinion authored by Justice Elizabeth M. Welch and joined by Chief Justice Clement and Justices Berstein, Cavanagh, and Bolden, issued its decision in Andary v. USAA Casualty Insurance Company, a case that has been working its way through the state court system since 2019.

Last week, the HCAOA Michigan Chapter held a virtual legislative update to discuss important issues including plans for legislation to fix the ongoing auto no fault issue in the state, as well as licensure.

​Last week, the bipartisan, bicameral Assisting Caregivers Today (ACT) Caucus was re-launched by Caucus Co-Chairs Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Reps. Jen Kiggans (R-VA) and Debbie Dingell (D-MI). The ACT Caucus will provide education about the challenges family caregivers face and advocate for policies that support them.

HCAOA members and VP of Government Relations Eric Reinarman met with several members of the Michigan Legislature last week in a continuing quest to get providers properly reimbursed for their care of those seriously injured in catastrophic car accidents.

Michigan members continue to make headway in educating state lawmakers about the serious impact the Auto No-Fault Insurance reform has had on providers and auto accident victims. This reform inadvertently included home care providers and has resulted in dramatic cuts of up to 45% in insurance reimbursement to providers who care for those who’ve been grievously injured in car accidents. 

​AARP Michigan is urging lawmakers to shift to home and community-based care services for the aging population instead of nursing homes and institutions. They have made their concerns known to lawmakers developing Michigan’s fiscal budget for 2022-23. A survey they commissioned in August 2022 found that 89 percent of residents in Michigan would prefer to age at home and avoid ever living in a nursing home.
 
AARP Michigan supports increased funding for the state’s PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly), which provides social and medica services in adult health centers but it supplemented by in-home care.
 
Learn more about AARP Michigan’s priorities at aarp.org/mi.

The HCAOA Michigan State Chapter is still hard at work trying to broker a fix to the automobile no-fault insurance bill that led to cuts of 45% or more in reimbursement rates for those providing home care to individuals who were catastrophically injured in car accidents. Next week, several HCAOA members will participate in over a dozen calls on this topic with members of the Michigan Legislature to help them understand how these cuts are hurting Michigan families and how the problem can be fixed.
 
In 2019, Michigan enacted reforms to their automobile no-fault insurance rubric that inadvertently resulted in reimbursement rate cuts to victims of serious car accidents. Home care companies were never the target of reform efforts in Lansing, and HCAOA is doing all it can to educate members of the Michigan Legislature on this issue. 

​HCAOA state chapters are focused on improving access to and the delivery of home care throughout the country. Whether it’s expanding the scope of services that home care aides in Illinois can provide, or advocating for auto accident victims in Michigan, or developing recommendations for Ohio’s new home care license law, or fighting against a bill that would prohibit non-solicitation clauses in Connecticut, HCAOA’s chapters have been doing great work on behalf of all members! Here are some highlights…

​Experts say one of the keys to caregiver retention is recognition and acknowledgement of the important work they do. Michigan members, here is an opportunity to recognize your caregivers with a free concert by the Michigan State University (MSU) Wind Symphony on March 24 to honor healthcare workers who provided direct care during the COVID-19 pandemic.

​​This week, the HCAOA Michigan Chapter sent a letter to Governor Gretchen Whitmer on behalf of home care providers who care for hundreds of Michigan residents, including children and adults who require continuous care for injuries sustained in car accidents, who have had their care jeopardized due to new auto insurance reform that went into effect on July 2, 2021. Home care organizations have been providing care to these clients for many years, however now reimbursement from insurance companies has been slashed by 45 percent.

​HCAOA announced this week that Greg Gorton of Right at Home in Grand Blanc, Michigan is the 2021 Caregiver of the Year. Gorton was selected as the top home caregiver in the country from nearly 250 nominees from 41 states. Gorton will be recognized Wednesday at a special event at the Michigan State Capitol.