PAYMENT FOR MEDICAL FORENSIC EXAM S.B. 152:
SUMMARY OF BILL
REPORTED FROM COMMITTEE
Senate Bill 152 (as reported without amendment)
Sponsor: Senator Tonya Schuitmaker
CONTENT
The bill would amend Section 5a of the crime victim's compensation Act to require the Crime Victim Services Commission to pay a maximum of $1,200, rather than $600, to a health care provider for performing a sexual assault medical forensic examination and related services.
The bill also would revise the specific services and items for which payment may be made under Section 5a. Under the bill, up to $600, rather than not more than $400, could be for the use of an emergency room, clinic, or exam room, and the sexual assault medical exam and related procedures other than the services and items specifically authorized for payment. The bill would allow $150 of the payment to be used for colposcopy and/or high-resolution digital photography to document injury or other evidence related to a sexual assault. The bill would delete caps of $125 for laboratory services and $75 for dispensing pharmaceutical items related to the sexual assault, and would permit the Department of Health and Human Services to determine reimbursement rates for those services and costs.
MCL 18.355a Legislative Analyst: Patrick Affholter
FISCAL IMPACT
The bill would increase State expenditures by possibly $1.4 million to $1.6 million or more, and would have no impact on local units of government. Compensation to health care providers for sexual assault forensic examinations totaled $726,207 for 1,661 exams in FY 2014-15, and $842,522 for 1,855 examinations in FY 2015-16. This resulted in an average per cost case of $437.21 in FY 2014-15 and $454.19 in FY 2015-16. Assuming no growth in the number of sexual assault forensic examinations, at $1,200 per exam, the total cost in FY 2016-17 for 1,855 exams would be $2.2 million, an increase of $1.4 million. Assuming an equivalent 11.7% growth in the number of sexual assault forensic examinations as seen between FY 2014-15 and FY 2015-16, at $1,200 per exam, the total cost in FY 2016-17 for 2,072 exams would be $2.5 million, an increase of $1.6 million.
The cost of this bill could be greater than $1.6 million. According to the Uniform Crime Report, more than 6,300 incidents of criminal sexual conduct were reported to Michigan police in 2015. This count does not include cases that were never reported, which are still eligible for sexual assault forensic exam reimbursement under Section 5a of the Act.
Currently, the SAFE Response program pays for all sexual assault medical forensic exams out of the Crime Victim's Rights Fund. Since FY 2011-12, the Fund has seen revenue exceed expenditures, with a surplus close to $7.0 million each year since FY 2012-13. An increase in expenditures related to the bill would not strain the Fund unless it exceeded $7.0 million.
Date Completed: 2-22-17 Fiscal Analyst: Ellyn Ackerman
This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan Senate staff for use by the Senate in its deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.