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Memorial service held for car crash survivors who've died after losing care

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A coalition of faith groups held a memorial service in Lansing today for car crash patients who died after losing care.

Care providers for such patients are going out of business because Michigan's no-fault law cuts their payments nearly in half.

"Enough is enough. When you go through a service like this today, and hear about the lives that were lost because of the change in their care and how quickly they slipped off the scale, it's time to do something." said Tom Constand who is head of the Brain Injury Association of Michigan. He says patients who lost their home care are landing in hospitals or poorly staffed nursing homes.

The new law affects more than 18,000 people with catastrophic injuries.

A majority of state legislators in the House have co-sponsored bills to fix the no-fault law, but there is no hearing scheduled yet.

Tracy Samilton covers energy and transportation, including the auto industry and the business response to climate change for Michigan Public. She began her career at Michigan Radio as an intern, where she was promptly “bitten by the radio bug,” and never recovered.