A Letter from NeuroTrauma Association President John Gwynne Prosser II

A Letter From The NeuroTrauma Association President

JOHN GWYNNE PROSSER II

I am very pleased to announce the recent partnership of the NeuroTrauma Association and Innovative Health Magazine.

IHM showcases community leaders in healthcare, medicine, wellness and leisure and we are very proud that our cause will be featured in such a magazine multiple times over the next year.

The NeuroTrauma Association’s sole mission is to manifest resources for people who are catastrophically injured as the result of an automobile accident. Every day, over 800 people acquire traumatic brain injuries while driving, and another 25 suffer spinal cord injuries. Most people don’t consider that something like this could happen to them but catastrophic injury does not discriminate and drivers need to ensure that they’re fully protected.

Specifically, we advocate for the adoption of the Michigan model for no-fault automobile insurance, which provides injured people with comprehensive and lifetime resources for the care, recovery, and rehabilitation of catastrophic injuries sustained in an accident. Many of the benefits provided under Michigan auto no-fault are not covered under Medicare, Medicaid, or personal health insurance: whole home modifications, modified vehicles, electric wheelchairs, uncapped therapies, 24 hour in-home nursing for as long as a person may need it and more (all require a doctor’s order). The items that are covered under the other systems are severely limited, such as the $1900 limit on physical therapy under Medicaid. The Michigan no-fault system lacks the pre-set caps on duration or monetary cost of care that the other coverages use. This provides the injured with aggressive, persistent therapies they unfortunately would not receive in other states or from other insurances.

One of the more surprising factors may be that this system actually saves the state of Michigan money. Drivers pay in to a fund that reimburses the insurers after a certain point, alleviating their concerns regarding lifetime benefits. That fund has grown for 40 years and now has over $17 billion – and continues to grow. The House Fiscal Agency estimated that auto no-fault prevents over $630 million of costs from being incurred by Medicaid annually.

We hope to provide injured citizens with the products and services that are needed to make a meaningful recovery from a catastrophic injury such as a TBI. Furthermore, this model prevents a young person from using up all of their health insurance policy, which they may need later in life. Harvard Medical School studies have shown that unpaid medical bills are the leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States.

Please consider how much better you might be able to serve your clients, how much better their quality of life would be, if they were able to have access to these sort of resources. Together we can change the world. Thank you for considering assisting us in our campaign.