Accident Compensation in New Zealand

[chuck]

The other thread is getting a little long, so I thought I'd post this here. This is a key component of the system for medical care that we have in New Zealand.

You can still apply for private health insurance, you can still choose to use a private hospital - but ACC is the one main cover for all New Zealanders and any and all visitors to New Zealand.

Introduction to ACC

How it's paid for


I still can't really get my head around the US system, in part because of the noise that's going on around the debate. I'm not saying our ACC system is perfect - there are those that screw it, and there are questions about the finances at times.

I like that it's paid for according the "riskiness" of my job - so if I work in construction, I pay more than an office work. I like that mainly because it means that a focus goes on to preventing accidents and injury, in those work places.

The second part I like about it is that it's designed to get people back up and running (and working) quickly. When I damaged some muscles in my neck whilst breaking up a fight at school - I saw a physio the next day, had rehab sessions for three consecutive days and once a week for a month - and the one day I had off work, was paid for by ACC. When you're injured, it allows you to focus on getting better. Not waiting around to save up cash for treatment.

Lastly - I like the levelling of payments. If you drive a car - your annual car registration has an ACC component, and there's a percentage of the cost of petrol goes to ACC. If you don't drive a car, you don't pay those - but you're still covered if you're hit by a car.

In my experience, it's a pretty fair, easy to understand system that's designed to prevent accidents but then support those who suffer from accidents and get them back working again.

It's not about elective surgery though.

Thought I'd throw it into the mix. I don't know if it qualifies as socialism or communism - but it works pretty well.