After many years of fighting, it appears that our legislature and Governor have reached agreement on changes to our No-Fault Law. We have only received bullet points so far, as the actual bill is in the process of being drafted. Therefore, the following is a brief and preliminary review of the new No-Fault Law, which appears to be a done deal.

 

First, there will be the so-called "PIP Choice." It will allow insurance customers to buy the following levels of coverage: Unlimited; $500,000 limits; $250,000 limits. There will be other options as well for selected populations. For example, I understand that those covered by Medicare will be able to opt out entirely.

 

Second, the effective date of the law will be July 1, 2020. This means that anyone injured prior to that date will continue to be covered by the existing law.

 

Third, there will be fee schedules. Hospitals will get up to 240% of Medicare. Others will get 200% of Medicare and this will decline to 190% over 3 years. This part of the law will not go into effect until July 1, 2021.

 

Fourth, there will be a Covenant "fix."  That is, we should be able to once again bring direct action lawsuits on behalf of providers and against insurers.

 

There are many more provisions to this complex law. I hope to get a copy of the actual bill over the weekend. I will study it and issue a more detailed summary of the changes.