Michigan Chamber Supports Medical Liability Reform Package  

The Senate Insurance Committee is currently considering legislation to reform Michigan's medical liability laws. Senate Bills 1115-1118 would preserve access to care, particularly for underserved populations around the state, and stem the impending physician shortage by enhancing protections that keep physicians in Michigan.

Senate Bills 1115-18, which may be voted out of committee as early as this week, would:

• Better define what constitutes an "economic damage" and a "non-economic damage";
• Hold doctors to the same liability standards as practicing attorneys;
• Prevent plaintiffs attorneys from artificially inflating awards, which ultimately drive up the cost of health care;
• Bring more medical professionals under medical malpractice guidelines;
• Close a loophole that doubles the statute of limitations and allow attorneys to drag out these lawsuits for years on end; and
• Ensure patients benefit from lawsuits, not their lawyers, by preventing attorneys from collecting interest on expenses they have not incurred.

This legislation represents the first attempted overhaul to Michigan's medical liability laws since the 1990s and presents a real opportunity to help efforts to make Michigan an attractive state for physicians to start and maintain a practice. Opposition from plaintiffs attorneys is fierce, as they see the legislation as a threat to their livelihood.  However, we are hopeful that the Legislature will put patients and providers over lawyers and support SBs 1115-18.

Chamber Contact: Wendy Block, Director of Health Policy & Human Resources.

*Editor's Note: The headline for this article was incorrect in the original version of this report. We apologize for this error. 

Pscholka Bill Aims to Treat Use Tax Payers Fairly

The Michigan House has unanimously passed House Bill 5543 (Pscholka, R-Stevensville) to stop the aggressive and unauthorized audit practice of applying Use Tax back 10 years, even in cases when a taxpayer has filed a return.  

The Michigan Department of Treasury has been over-zealous in the interpretation of Michigan statutes by taking an extremely narrow view of what is considered "registration" for Use Tax purposes, as well as what constitutes a tax "return" in the eyes of the Department. Taxpayers have been surprised and dismayed to find that they are getting hit with a 10-year assessment when they are otherwise - in good faith - attempting to comply with Use Tax requirements. Furthermore, there is a lack of clear and consistent state policy which is publicly available to taxpayers.

Taxpayers need and deserve clarity. HB 5543 provides a solution to this problem by specifically enumerating what is considered the "filing of a return" under the law.

This legislation is one step in the Michigan Chamber's effort towards restoring fairness in the treatment of business taxpayers in Michigan. We applaud Representative Psholka's efforts on this important legislation.

Chamber Contact: Tricia Kinley, Senior Director of Tax & Regulatory Reform.

Good News! Michigan Legislature Passes State Budget  

Kudos to Michigan lawmakers who yesterday passed the state budget several months early for the second consecutive year. Gov. Snyder, Senate Majority Leader Randy Richardville and House Speaker Jase Bolger - all to be congratulated for their leadership - noted at a special Capitol press conference yesterday that, also for the second year in a row, the state passed a budget that saves money, pays down liabilities and doesn't use accounting gimmicks.