May 11, 2009 11:14 pm US/Eastern
I-Team: Mismanagement Of Surcharge On Tickets
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
For Didi Sullivan every day with her husband is a gift. His life changed in an instant 9 years ago when his car hit a patch of ice and slid into a tree on his way home from a day of fishing on the cape. He suffered a massive head injury.
Bill Sullivan survived that accident but he can't walk or speak. "He's been robbed. I've been robbed. We've all been robbed of this fabulous, tremendous person," Didi said.
Didi couldn't bear the thought or the expense of a nursing home, so she takes care of Bill in their house in Andover. Her five children are scattered across the country, so she has little help. Still, she stays remarkably cheerful and positive, despite the demands of the job.
But there is some help available for people like Bill. Every time someone in Massachusetts gets a speeding ticket, they pay a $50 Head Injury Surcharge.
In 2008, more than $10 million was collected to help offset the cost of caring for people with head injuries. But Didi never received any aid from the state and that lack of help is starting to take its toll.
Physical therapy, hospital equipment, and a home health aid to help out a few hours a week are expensive and like many head injured patients, Bill's insurance doesn't cover it all. "We're selling our house," Didi said. "In 9 years, we have gone through Bill's 401k. He didn't expect to retire at 56."
The Massachusetts Brain Injury Association says there are thousands of people like Bill on the waiting list for services.
So where's all the money from those speeding tickets? Remember that $10 Million collected back in 2008, only about half of it actually made it into the Head Injury Trust Fund. Why? Back in 2003 the legislature doubled the fee from $25 to $50 but kept the other half and put it into the state's General Fund. That means they can spend the money on anything.
In spite of the change, speeding tickets are still clearly marked 'Head Injury Surcharge.' The driver's manual published by the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles is even more specific. It states: By law, all fines for speeding violations include a $50 surcharge. This surcharge is applied to the Head Injury Treatment Services Trust Fund. "That's called adding insult to injury, isn't it?" Didi said.
Representative John Sciback actually supports the idea of giving the entire surcharge to the head injured. However, he says many patients run out of insurance and may ultimately end up being cared for by other state-funded health programs. "As long as it's going to Mass Health related entities, which certainly have been underfunded themselves, I'm OK with that," he said.
But he said there is no guarantee where that money diverted to the General Fund is spent.
Didi Sullivan says the public is being misled and her husband isn't getting the services he needs. "We ought to be out on the State House steps saying, 'OK, hand over the money,'" she said.
Last summer, lawmakers increased the portion paid to the head injury trust fund from $25 to $30, but documents obtained by the I-Team show through March of this year, the registry was still splitting the money evenly. Officials at the registry didn't realize it until we brought it to their attention. A spokesperson called it account management oversight and said the problem would be resolved.
Now, in the midst of a budget crisis, the state has to transfer $703,000 back to the Head Injury Trust Fund.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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