Kicking the tyres at ACC

• John A
• 15 years ago
• Categories: uncategorized

The Sunday Star-Times details hitherto secret proposals from the John Judge-chaired ACC to cut back entitlements and increase user-pays. The hidden agenda:

• Introduce a $100 excess on every claim.
• Reduce income compensation from 80% to 70% after one year and 60% after two.
• Impose a two-year limit on compensation for soft tissue injuries, such as back pain.
• Introduce wider surveillance powers for ACC investigators to stamp out fraud.
• Legislate to make it easier to get workers back to work.

What is interesting about the story is that further detail is provided by “an insurance source.” We may assume that the industry source is also the source of the leak.

These changes are exactly the sort of thing the insurance industry would want in place to make ACC ready for profitable privatisation. It looks like talks may already be under way.