Michigan Court of Appeals; Docket #260766 and #261504; Unpublished
Judges Kelly, Markey, and Meter; 2-1 (Judge Kelly concurring); per curiam
Official Michigan Reporter Citation: Not applicable, Link to Opinion 
STATUTORY INDEXING:
Lawfully Rendered Treatment [3157]
TOPICAL INDEXING:
Not applicable
CASE SUMMARY:
In this 2-1 unpublished per curiam opinion, the Court of Appeals affirmed summary disposition for defendant health care providers, holding that MCL 500.3157 does not excuse an insurer from making no-fault insurance payments for services that are properly rendered, even though the health care providers are not incorporated as “professional corporations” or “professional LLCs.”
The defendants in this case rendered medical, physical, and occupational therapy services to persons who were injured in motor vehicle accidents and who were insured by plaintiff Allstate Insurance. The plaintiff refused to pay for certain services because it contended that defendants were improperly organized as business entities. Under MCL 500.3157, health care providers who are “lawfully rendering treatment” may charge a reasonable amount for products, services, or accommodations. According to plaintiff, in order to lawfully render treatment, the health care providers must be organized as professional corporations or professional LLCs.
The Court of Appeals disagreed, citing Miller v Allstate Insurance Company, 272 Mich App 284 (2006) [RB #2785]. In Miller, the court held that even though there may be corporate defects, health care providers lawfully render treatment when licensed employees care for or provide services to patients. In this regard, the court stated:
“The Miller Court held that ‘[a] clinic or institution is lawfully rendering treatment when licensed employees are caring for and providing services and treatment to patients despite the possible existence of corporate defects irrelevant to treatment. Under Miller, the allegedly defective organizational structures of the clinic defendants did not deprive plaintiff of its obligation to pay for the treatment rendered in this case. The clinic defendants, in their rendering of treatment, acted lawfully. Indeed, there is no evidence that the services provided to the injured persons in this case were rendered against the will of anyone, and there is no evidence that the health-care providers involved were practicing medicine without proper medical licenses. We therefore affirm the orders being appealed.”
(emphasis in original)
