I'm not sure if that’s news to you or not.
They are sinking in a sea of debt. They are forecast in four short years to be in the hole to the tune of $26 billion.
Now there are side issues like court cases, which make decisions that envelop the organisation into a fiscal level of responsibility they can't calculate, and in that I feel sorry for them.
But their turnaround plan, which has just been launched, involves them getting back to black in four years.
That, if done, will be well worth applauding. Now, I have no doubt it can be done, mainly because the problem is one of will and determination.
But it does involve tough decisions, a bit of backbone and a whole new attitude.
A couple of key figures give the story away.
Figure 1: The number of people in the past decade who are on long term payments. It's gone from 12,000 to 24,000. In other words, it's doubled.
Has the population doubled in that time? No.
Have we fallen over a lot more? Not necessarily.
Have we milked a system able to be milked? Of course.
Figure 2: The cost of rehab. In the same period, it's gone from $2 billion to $4 billion, so it's doubled.
Has inflation doubled? No.
Have people seen ACC coming and adjusted their costs accordingly? Yes.
The whole thing is not a lot short of a scam.
It's an industry in which if you take your eye off the ball, make the rules convoluted and look to scrimp and save in the wrong areas, is ripe for the sort of calamitous outcome that has clearly eventuated.
Literally half the country claims ACC each year. It's astonishing.
It's not normal.
Recently a family member was a recipient of ACC. Without boring you with the details, at times ACC seemed determined this person should not return to work.
There was a rigid inflexibility in their approach. Rules were rules. Ironically this family member was desperate to get back to work, but, said any number of doctors and specialists, not before just a bit more treatment.
Do that two million times over and you're $26 billion in the hole.
The good news is there is no reason it can't be fixed. The question is, do they have the gonads and the wherewithal to do it?
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
But their turnaround plan, which has just been launched, involves them getting back to black in four years.
That, if done, will be well worth applauding. Now, I have no doubt it can be done, mainly because the problem is one of will and determination.
But it does involve tough decisions, a bit of backbone and a whole new attitude.
A couple of key figures give the story away.
Figure 1: The number of people in the past decade who are on long term payments. It's gone from 12,000 to 24,000. In other words, it's doubled.
Has the population doubled in that time? No.
Have we fallen over a lot more? Not necessarily.
Have we milked a system able to be milked? Of course.
Figure 2: The cost of rehab. In the same period, it's gone from $2 billion to $4 billion, so it's doubled.
Has inflation doubled? No.
Have people seen ACC coming and adjusted their costs accordingly? Yes.
The whole thing is not a lot short of a scam.
It's an industry in which if you take your eye off the ball, make the rules convoluted and look to scrimp and save in the wrong areas, is ripe for the sort of calamitous outcome that has clearly eventuated.
Literally half the country claims ACC each year. It's astonishing.
It's not normal.
Recently a family member was a recipient of ACC. Without boring you with the details, at times ACC seemed determined this person should not return to work.
There was a rigid inflexibility in their approach. Rules were rules. Ironically this family member was desperate to get back to work, but, said any number of doctors and specialists, not before just a bit more treatment.
Do that two million times over and you're $26 billion in the hole.
The good news is there is no reason it can't be fixed. The question is, do they have the gonads and the wherewithal to do it?
Mike Hosking is a New Zealand television and radio broadcaster. He currently hosts The Mike Hosking Breakfast show on NewstalkZB on weekday mornings - where this article was sourced.
8 comments:
Get rid of ACC!
The Australian system is also broken but so much better and doesn’t contribute to the bankruptcy of the nation
I believe for a lot of pursuits and pastimes you should have personal coverage for accidents etc; e.g. skiing, mountain biking, rugby etc.
Guess what Nicola we cannot afford it.
For context, ACC is actually sitting on >$50b of investments. The $26b "hole" Michael refers to is unfunded liabilities, a number that can be changed simply by changing actuarial assumptions.
Ive known 2 people who have rorted ACC long term and I've been disgusted at their indignant entitlement to claim long term even though their brain still worked. Shut ACC down NOW! Im sick of paying for other peoples stupidity.
Also...... Im sick of paying for other peoples children!
With payment such a high proportion of gross wage full time retrement on ACC for a bad back is quite attractive.
In additon to the $26 billion is the umpteen billion the public effectively spends on grossly excessive elaborate safety measures (scaffolding, traffic management etc) to protect workers from their own folly (drugs, incl alcohol) and gross misjudegement or carelssness.
10 year old son had his 2 front teeth fractured by a primary school teacher hitting a hockey ball into unguarded mouth at lunch time. 10 years later, after numerous interventions due to permanent damage and ongoing dental issues, ACC will only part fund interventions. Now a Uni student, son is being billed thousands for ongoing dental work relating to the fracture of his teeth by that teacher, a deputy principal. ACC has abandoned ship on his injury, and have said that there is nothing son can do except approach WINZ for funding shortfall. WINZ!!
ACC can hide behind big closed doors when it suits them. It has become a broken, abused system.
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