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Monday, September 10, 2012

The Horror of ACC



It just gets worse and worse at ACC doesn't it? Forget the lying about Bronwyn Pullar threatening them or a Minister too caught up in petty defamation action to be effective, the latest revelations about ACC flying hatchet Drs around the country to purposely dump claimants is an ugly, ugly, ugly deformity of a once proud public service...

ACC pays millions to send its 'hatchets'
ACC is spending millions of dollars flying doctors around New Zealand to assess long-term clients who have already been assessed by other doctors.

The policy has been slammed by John Miller - one of the country's top lawyers specialising in ACC legislation - who said the so-called “independence” of some assessors was a sham.

ACC lawyers, advocates and claimant groups know those doctors as “hatchet men and women”, Mr Miller said.

“They are not independent, as a substantial part of their income comes from ACC,” he said.

ACC figures reveal the corporation pays millions of dollars a year to a group of “independent assessors”, often flying them to towns or cities where other doctors with suitable qualifications already practise.

In some cases the ACC assessors are flown from the South Island to North Island cities.

At least $3 million was spent last year on airfares and assessment fees for a group of less than 12 doctors.

Mr Miller said medical professionals had expressed serious concerns to him about the issue.

Because some assessors earned virtually all their income from ACC it was “inevitable” they would tend to “provide reports ACC wants".


...by running ACC like a business rather than public service it has adopted all the cut throat tactics of corporate insurers working to find any loophole to allow them to disqualify applicants. NZ has an injury rate 5 times that of the UK and ACC's mentality to cheat the public isn't helping deal with that.

Well done 60 minutes on TV3 for refusing to let the issue die. If Labour want inroads, they should start by demanding ACC goes back to serving the public rather than scamming them.

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4 Comments:

At 10/9/12 7:17 am, Blogger Nitrium said...

Watched 60 Minutes last night since ages, now that that awful reality garbage is on One instead of Sunday (which I used to watch, and has now been ropped to 30 mins). Nice to see where TVNZ's priorities lie.

Every time I see the "the horror" written I think of Marlon Brando.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNUr__-VZeQ

 
At 10/9/12 2:49 pm, Blogger Unknown said...

ACC must be restored to at least its original state. Kiwis gave up their right to sue those responsible for their accidents when the scheme was implemented in 1974. The scheme was a no-fault, no-blame accident compensation scheme. I actually had one of the few last workers compensation claims in 1974. I got a lump sum payment - less my lawyer Bill Jeffries 10% cut. Yes, that Bill Jeffries!

It was politicians like Bill Birch who fiddled and stuffed up the scheme.

Restore the original scheme or give us the right to opt out and join an insurance scheme!!

 
At 10/9/12 3:43 pm, Blogger Grhys said...

seems like typical NZ style corruption where a consultant delivers you a result paid for by the tax payer with harsh consequences and austerity on the tax payer while benefiting a minority of elite...why do kiwis sell themselves so cheap, the price of just keeping your job is not a high enough bribe when your kids ask for a future

 
At 10/9/12 6:53 pm, Blogger countryboy said...

@ Kiwi Riverman's Blogesphere . That's SIR WILLIAM BIRCH . He's currently trying to slither up Rio Tintos trouser leg down at Tiwai by offering them cut price electricity while our people go freezing cold in substandard state houses . He tried to shake my hand years ago but I refused telling him that I didn't want to catch what he clearly had .

The ACC debacle is as perfect an example of virtually everything that is completely wrong about Privatization . It graphically shows up every single flaw about that dubious concept and about bloody time . But then the writing has been on the wall for quite some time and I reckon TV3 can smell blood in the water . They know that our disastrous last few decades are unraveling . A Royal Commission of Inquiry please . Thank you .

 

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