DETROIT – A marathon session in the House ended Thursday with a breakthrough vote approving a bill that would lower auto insurance rates for Michigan drivers.
The House approved the bill shortly after 2 a.m. Thursday, but just a few hours later, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer threatened to veto the bill.
There are differences between the House and Senate bills, and Whitmer is already signalling she's not on board with whatever the sides agree to approve.
The budget bite auto insurance puts on the average Michigan household is reaching a boiling point, producing battling bills.
The Senate looks to close the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association, which is the lifetime unlimited disability coverage. The House said no to that, and that's a significant difference.
When it comes to personal injury protection, the two sides want it, but in different ways.
The House went with five choices, starting at $50,000 and going up to unlimited. The Senate wants to offer just two choices: $50,000 and $250,000, which is another major difference.
Both sides want to opt out of coverage with qualified health care insurance, which includes Medicare and Medicaid.
Whitmer said she wants to see guaranteed PIP price rollbacks, but only the House agrees.
Both sides use the worker's comp fee schedules for treating injuries.
Another of Whitmer's demands is a ban on nondriving factors in deciding costs. The House agrees, but the Senate does not.
"I've been very clear that I am not going to sign a bill that preserves a corrupt system for the insurance companies that are allowed to unfairly discriminate in setting rates," Whitmer said. "I am only interested in signing a bill that is reasonable and fair and actually provides strong consumer protection and immediate financial relief."
There's likely a veto in the offing, but it's not just because of the battling auto insurance bills. Whitmer is demanding both a clearly consumer protection-based insurance bill and a budget with a big gas tax increase. Neither is looking likely for now.