Opinion ID: 848642
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 10

Heading: further implications of the majority's decision

Text: The majority forces a harsh dilemma on insured individuals injured in automobile accidents: remain in an institution, if insurance coverage is available, or convalesce at home where they or others are burdened with the cost of their food. Unfortunately for impoverished families, the only choice may be to remain in institutional care. [7] Reed has been the rule of law in Michigan for twelve years. There are unacknowledged alarming implications in overruling it. If we apply the majority's reasoning about in-home food, is shelter at home an allowable expense? An uninjured person requires shelter. The majority incentivizes no-fault insurers to refuse to reimburse these and other expenses in the future, even though they are without dispute reasonably necessary for an injured person's care. The majority opines that reimbursement for in-home food is a form of wage-loss benefits. However, it is unable to substantiate that statement with a showing that any legislation equates wage-loss benefits with payment for care of the injured. Wage-loss benefits exist to replace lost income, not as reimbursement for expenses incurred. Furthermore, the no-fault act limits wage-loss benefits to three years. But the insurer's obligation to provide for the care of an injured person can extend over the person's lifetime. Therefore, equating the provision of food with wage loss is inaccurate. The Legislature struck a very definite compromise on the duration of wage-loss benefits that stands in contrast to the lifetime care to which an injured person is entitled. The majority [8] finds that §§ 3105 and 3107 impose two separate and distinct requirements before expenses are compensable under the act. It finds that Mr. Griffith's expenses for in-home food fail to satisfy the requirements of both sections. They fail to satisfy § 3107 because they were not necessary for his care. They fail to satisfy § 3105 because they were not caused by the accidental bodily injury. The majority informs us that Mr. Griffith's food, when provided in the hospital, did satisfy § 3107. Are we to infer that the hospital food was nonetheless not a reimbursable expense because it did not satisfy § 3105? [9] Clearly, the food was not an expense caused by the accidental bodily injury when furnished either in the hospital or at home. Finally, the majority makes no provision for those who in the past have incurred ongoing expenses and assumed ongoing burdens in reliance on the availability of reimbursements for in-home food. Because its holding is not limited to new cases, many whose caregivers are already receiving reimbursement for in-home food may be forced to return to institutional settings.