Mike's Minute: The ACC system still doesn't work

The Mike Hosking Breakfast

If you didn’t know, ACC is in some fiscal trouble again.

This isn't new. ACC has been in trouble for years.

Last year, 1.6 million of us managed to do something to ourselves which involved money - $4.5 billion dollars worth. That's just on rehab.

The total is $7 billion paid out.

It's an astonishing amount of money - and the problem is what we pay in doesn’t cover what goes out.

ACC run a scheme whereby money is invested in the hope the returns offset the bills.

I personally pay thousands a year and have done for decades. To this day I have never claimed a cent.

The original idea was a no-faults scheme, as opposed to a U.S style scheme where we lay blame and get lawyers.

16,000 people did something to themselves in the garden last year and claimed millions.

Previously physio has been the issue. When does physio stop? Who knows, but let's have another three sessions while we decide.

Go to any doctor with anything that hurts and the first thing they do is start tapping away on the ACC claim.

Like most of these altruistic ideas somewhere along the way we lost the plot.

It might be that we need to tidy this up. Foolishly perhaps, I have always seen ACC as work related. If you injure yourself and can't work, this is its value.

Not if you cut your finger pruning hydrangeas.

We had a family member who was off work for months, I think too many months. They wouldn’t let him back even though he wanted to go back. But they kept saying "oh, just in case".

I wonder if there is too much "just in case".

The risk payments work to a degree. 40 percent of payouts are in construction, manufacturing, agriculture and fishing. I pay as a journalist, even though I'm not a journalist, but they can't work out what I am or how to charge me.

Part of a journalist's risk is being in a war zone. I can tell you journalists generally in New Zealand don’t go to war zones.

Anyway, 1.6 million people with two million claims and all up it cost $7 billion.

In barely over two years basically every single one of us makes a claim.

That's not right, it's not normal and it's why they can't pay their way.

The system doesn’t work.

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