I see Nick Smith has answered the MacDoctor’s question: The worrying thing here is that Mr Smith apparently has no idea whether there is a problem with ACC claims and no inclination to find out.  Over 400 people have complained to the Herald and ACC lose fully one third of all their disputed claims. Yet Mr. Smith would like “a larger number”! How [...]

A while ago I blogged about ACC’s increasing propensity to call all injuries with long-term sequelae, “degenerative” (i.e due to wear and tear). Increasingly, patients are taking ACC to the tribunal (and often then on to court) and winning their case, despite ACC having an “expert opinion” from a tame specialist. Today there is an article [...]

It really was a bumper day for left-wing whining today. The 90-day probation was extended to all businesses, the minimum wage went up to $13.00 ph and ACC re-introduced experience rating. All favorite left-wing bug-bears. The Herald shamelessly published a horribly slanted article on the 90-day trail with Helen Kelly in full cry, accusing National of [...]

I see that ACC has now decided that the increase in surgery refusals is nothing to do with their belligerent campaign to kick every long-standing injury off their books, but it is all the fault of the specialists. Some surgeons are putting through claims they know won’t be approved by ACC, its board chairman John [...]

“You are old,” said the youth, “As I mentioned before, And have grown most uncommonly fat; Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door— Pray, what is the reason of that?” “In my youth,” said the sage, as he shook his grey locks, “I kept all my limbs very supple By the use of [...]

If there was every a perfect illustration of how the left think all employers are evil it is this statement from Council of Trade Unions president, Helen Kelly. “Rewarding employers for a lower claims rate doesn’t reduce accidents but provides incentives for accidents to be covered up.” Employers could fail to report accidents, misrepresent them [...]

Some newspaper articles cause me to wonder what is NOT being said. The Herald today runs the headline: Denied help for sexual abuse, dead days later A review of new rules for sexual abuse counseling has come too late to save a South Auckland mother who died four days after her claim for ACC-funded counselling [...]

I have a great deal of misgiving about the attempt of a couple to claim under ACC for the accident of their daughter’s birth. Their daughter’s spina bifida (open spine at birth) was not discovered on ultrasound and, as the parents insist that they would have aborted her, if they had known, they are trying [...]

My little amphibian friend over at FrogBlog is having a whine (or would that be a croak?) at ACC proposed increase in motorcycle levies. He dismisses this ACC explanation as “spin”. As usual with the motorcycle debate, there is much heat and misinformation, but I thought ACC’s new release was remarkably non-spin, considering the amount [...]

Have you noticed recently how every headline in the media is slanted to make whatever is happening in ACC look bad? ACC is clearly the current whipping boy and Nick Smith appears to be the Minister designated for denigration. This headline is a particularly egregious sample: ACC pulls fall plan support While superficially true, it [...]