ACC to consider individual privacy complaints

A news report from Radio New Zealand

The head of the Accident Compensation Corporation says it will consider each case of sensitive claimants whose private details were released to see whether further compensation is required.
The corporation offered in June to pay $250 to each of 200 claimants in compensation for mistakenly emailing their information to another claimant, Bronwyn Pullar.
A lawyer specialising in ACC matters, John Miller, says the offer is insulting and he intends to take action on behalf of about 100 of the claimants.
Another lawyer, Hazel Armstrong, has warned that those who seek greater damages may face a costly battle.
Ms Armstrong says they will have to prove they've suffered emotional harm because of the privacy breach.
"Possibly depending on how far ACC pushes it, they might have to show a level of significance that would have to be measured by a psychiatrist, and a psychiatrist's report can cost anything between $2000 and $7000."
ACC chief executive Ralph Stewart told Radio New Zealand's Morning Report programme the $250 offered is to recognise that the corporation had made a mistake.
"If the individual concerned is not happy we want to talk to them here about that and consider their own individual position."
Claimants not satisfied with this process have the option of going to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner or the Human Rights Tribunal.
Mr Miller is confident the case is strong and says his firm will take action on a pro bono basis.
He says he will go to the Human Rights Tribunal only if negotiations with ACC and the Privacy Commissioner fail.

© 2012 Radio New Zealand

http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/117041/acc-to-consider-individual-privacy-complaints

Coalition welcomes opportunity provided by reports

A press release from the ACC Futures Coalition

The two reports on ACC commissioned by the Privacy Commissioner and the Office of the Auditor-General may highlight failures but they also provide an opportunity to rethink the direction of the scheme, according to the ACC Futures Coalition.
“We welcome these reports,” said ACC Futures Coalition spokesperson Hazel Armstrong. “They confirm that there were problems at the governance and senior levels of the corporation with regard to the management of risk and claimants’ information.”
The report of the Privacy Commissioner (conducted by KPMG) found that the release of claimants’ details to Bronwyn Pullar, which occurred in August 2011, was a genuine error but occurred because of systemic weaknesses within ACC's culture, systems and processes.
“There is much to like about the KPMG report,” said Ms. Armstrong, “for example, we are pleased to see the emphasis that the report places on organisational culture. The report emphasises the need for a balance between ‘privacy, customer service and efficient and effective management so that “firm is also seen as fair” by ACC and its external clients and stakeholders.’ The report also stresses the importance of a culture of respect for claimant privacy which will lead to the wellbeing of clients and to achieving community trust in ACC.”
“We see these points as recognition of the link between the problems with the culture around the protection of information and the wider culture of the corporation,” said Ms. Armstrong.
“When discussing the culture of corporation the report raises the challenge arising from conflicting political views on the role of ACC and the resulting fluctuations in scheme performance, stating that this has resulted in ambiguity for staff in terms of customer service and managing claimant entitlements. There is a need for multi-party agreement on the future of the scheme,” said Ms. Armstrong, “something which the ACC Futures Coalition has been calling for since its inception.”
“These reports represent an opportunity to achieve a consensus on the future direction of the scheme,” said Ms. Armstrong. “We have begun the process of developing our own manifesto for ACC and are organising a one-day seminar in late October to assist us with that process. We want to contribute to a debate about how we can restore the scheme to its original founding values and we hope that all the parties and the Minister, will join us.”
“Both of the reports also identify failings at governance level around management of risk,” said Ms. Armstrong.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1208/S00364/coalition-welcomes-opportunity-provided-by-reports.htm

New ACC service and purchase agreement a reasonable start

A press release from the ACC Futures Coalition

The ACC Futures Coalition has welcomed the new ACC Service and Purchase Agreement, saying that it represents a reasonable start to the rebuilding process for ACC but pointing out that there is much to be done and also areas that the new agreement does not address.
“We think that the Minister has set out some good first steps,” said ACC Futures Coalition spokesperson Hazel Armstrong. “They should go a long way towards strengthening ACC as a public institution for the coming year. We welcome the emphasis on rebuilding public trust and confidence in ACC, but trust takes a long time to build and, as the corporation has just found out, can evaporate rather quickly. There is a strong focus on better service, which is important on a day-to-day basis, but better outcomes over a long period of time will be required to turnaround public perceptions.”
“We are not convinced that this document will deliver that on its own. For example, there is nothing in here on the need to use independent medical assessors and the emphasis is still on getting people off the scheme using vocational independence rather than a genuine return to work. Both these factors have contributed to claimant disillusionment with the scheme and need to be addressed.”
“The Agreement still also reflects the government’s commitment to full funding and has artificially high asset targets for the work and earners accounts, both of which will contribute to higher levies,” said Ms. Armstrong.
“However, there are other aspects that we see as very positive, including the commitment to more timely resolution of disputes and greater use of mediation without going to review. We welcome both of these moves.”
“The next challenge for the Minister will come when she decides on the replacements for the board members who have gone, because it is the board that will have to interpret the agreement and ensure that it is applied. Will she appoint a board that reflects the broad range of stakeholders and interests in ACC or will she stick with those who understand the money side but not ‘the broader responsibilities ACC has to all New Zealanders’ as the Minister’s press release put it? The initial response of Paula Rebstock today on Radio Live was not encouraging. All she seemed to want to focus on was the privacy question when the issues facing ACC go much deeper. We await the next steps with interest,” said Ms. Armstrong.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1206/S00399/new-acc-service-and-purchase-agreement-a-reasonable-start.htm

ACC shows kinder face, cuts back-to-work goals

An article from the New Zealand Herald by Adam Bennett

ACC is to soften its drive to get long-term claimants back into work in the face of concerns it is pushing clients off its books before they are properly rehabilitated.
The corporation yesterday published its Service and Purchase Agreement for the 2012-15 period in which it sets out its targets and priorities. Improving "trust and confidence" was the corporation's number one priority in the agreement, replacing "cost containment" which was top of the list last year. Its second priority in this year's agreement is "improved management and security of private information".
Since March, the corporation has grappled with a massive privacy breach and ensuing scandal, a failed attempt to prosecute claimant and former National Party insider Bronwyn Pullar for blackmail, and an increasing spotlight on its controversial strategy to bolster its financial sustainability by moving costly long-term claimants off its books. That came top of a series of articles in the Herald highlighting ACC's tougher approach to elective surgery claims.
Figures obtained by the Herald last week showed the corporation cut the number of long-term claimants receiving weekly compensation by 3644 or 25 per cent to 10,773 in the three years since June 2009.
That was well ahead of targets. Last week ACC said its target for the 2012-13 year was a reduction of 253. In the agreement published yesterday that target was reduced to 200.
Acting ACC chairwoman Paula Rebstock said that as the number of long-term claimants declined, so did the targets for reducing that tally further.
She acknowledged "there was some discussion" about having the target slightly higher for the coming year, "but the board took the view that given the new priorities and the focus on addressing some of these other issues, that target would have to be slightly lower and we lowered it".
Those priorities and issues were spelled out clearly in ACC Minister Judith Collins' "letter of expectations" to former chairman John Judge in April which was also released yesterday.
While she said the corporation had done well managing its finances, the board had a broader set of responsibilities including "ensuring entitlements are delivered fairly and transparently to all New Zealanders".
"While the gains made by ACC over the past year are very pleasing, I am aware that the initiatives taken by the board to raise performance of ACC have had many and varied impacts on claimants, health providers, and other stakeholders" she went on to say. "ACC and the way it delivers services are now seen by many in a new light ... Recent events have not helped the public image of the corporation."
Greens ACC spokesman Kevin Hague said the new agreement was encouraging.
"I'd been looking at this document as a litmus test for whether Ms Collins' language about a culture change should be assumed to be empty rhetoric or whether it's likely to have substance, and very clearly in her letter of expectations and in the agreement ... she's actually followed through so far."
Claimants advocacy group the ACC Futures Coalition said Ms Collins had set out some good first steps.
"They should go a long way towards strengthening ACC as a public institution for the coming year" said spokeswoman Hazel Armstrong. "We welcome the emphasis on rebuilding public trust and confidence in ACC, but trust takes a long time to build and, as the corporation has just found out, can evaporate rather quickly."
However, the agreement said nothing about the need for ACC to use truly independent medical assessors and it still emphasised getting people off the scheme using "vocational independence".
"Both these factors have contributed to claimant disillusionment with the scheme and need to be addressed."

ACC'S TARGETS
For culling long term claimants:
* 2009-10: 100
* 2010-11: 1150
* 2011-12: 406
* 2012-13: 200
* 2013-14: 89
* 2014-15: 50

© 2012 APN Holdings NZ Ltd

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10816237

ACC changes could return $1b to workers

An article from Stuff by Vernon Small

Changing the way ACC is funded could give a $1 billion windfall to workers and businesses and free up billions of dollars in reserves that could be used to cut government debt or fund the Christchurch rebuild, Green MP Kevin Hague says. The Greens back a change to "pay-as-you-go" funding for ACC.
Labour ACC spokesman Andrew Little has also called for a public debate about the option and the Council of Trade Unions and ACC lobby groups have weighed in with calls for change.
ACC Minister Judith Collins has not ruled out dropping the current "full- funding" model. However, yesterday she appeared to back away from that, saying the Government "does not want to burden future generations of New Zealanders with the cost of injuries that occur today as well as the cost of their own injuries".
Under full funding, the corporation sets levies above the annual cost of claims so it can build up reserves to also cover the future costs of existing claims. It aims to reach that goal by 2019, and currently has investments of $19.5b and a net liability of $4.5b.
Little said his calculations, based on pre-2009 levies, suggested about $1b could be sliced off annual levies under a move to pay-as-you-go funding.
"Since every wage and salary earner and every business pays it, it will have a noticeable impact."
In the current year, ACC expects to collect $5b in levies from workers, employers and motor vehicle owners and pay out $2.8b. Little favoured leaving the existing reserves with ACC.
However, Hague said the reserves could be reduced to about $6b - enough for a buffer of two or three years. The remaining $14b could be used to "even out the distinctions" between illness and accident-related cover, cut debt, invest in capital projects or help pay for the Christchurch rebuild.
"We could make much better use of the dollars than keeping them in uncertain investments," he said.
A change was yesterday backed by lobby group ACC Futures Coalition. Spokeswoman Hazel Armstrong said private insurers needed full funding to cover claims, but it was not appropriate for a public agency such as ACC. It had been used to create "a false sense of crisis" at ACC.
Pension and retirement expert Michael Littlewood has long campaigned for full funding to be dropped, and today CTU economist Bill Rosenberg said full-funding had become  "a political swamp" that needed draining. The funding target rose and fell as a result of changes in assumptions about discount rates, investment returns, rehabilitation rates and cost inflation.
"It provides excuses for political swamp dwellers to alternate between cries of 'ACC funding crisis' and 'unaffordable levies' without a real basis for either. In addition building the reserves required for it has been a major driver of rising levies."

© 2012 Fairfax New Zealand Ltd

http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/7137311/ACC-changes-could-return-1b-to-workers

Time to abandon full funding of ACC

A press release from the ACC Futures Coalition

The ACC Futures Coalition today welcomed the news that the two major political parties are thinking about the future of the full funding regime at ACC.
“Full funding is a necessary mechanism for private insurers to ensure that they have enough money to cover the cost of current liabilities,” said ACC Futures Coalition spokesperson Hazel Armstrong. “It has never been appropriate for a public agency such as ACC which also has a welfare focus.”
“The full funding regime has been used as a stick to beat up ACC and create a false sense of financial crisis. The previous Minister claimed that the scheme was practically insolvent, because it was behind in meeting the targets for full funding. This was largely due to the scheme’s funds taking a hit in global financial crisis, but even then the scheme was delivering a surplus.”
“The ACC Futures Coalition supports a shift away from full funding to a pay-as-you-go scheme supported by reserves sufficient to withstand a crisis," said Ms. Armstrong. “We think it will take more work to refine the model but it will be an important step if the politicians can accept that principle needs to change.”
“A move to pay-as-you-go should also reduce the pressure on levies. We would not like to speculate as to what that might mean in practice, but there is no doubt that the artificial targets created by the full funding regime has contributed to the fluctuating levies of recent years,” concluded Ms. Armstrong.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1206/S00253/time-to-abandon-full-funding-of-acc.htm

Call for balance in ACC leadership

A press release from the ACC Futures Coalition

The ACC Futures Coalition today called upon the Minister of ACC to seize the opportunity presented by the recent clear out of members of the ACC Board to restore some balance to the leadership of the corporation.
“The past few years have demonstrated the danger of viewing ACC as simply another insurance company and stuffing the board with people who only understand the bottom line,” said Hazel Armstrong, convenor of the ACC Futures Coalition. “The books may have looked good but public confidence in ACC has been dramatically undermined as a culture of disentitlement and exclusions dominated.”
“The Minister now has the opportunity with ACC Chair John Judge was stepping down and two other board members going to appoint a board that reflects the range of interests in ACC,” said Ms. Armstrong, “We accept that there is a need for financial expertise and business interests to be on the board but other interests need to be represented too.”
“We definitely need union and claimant representation . it was a grave mistake by the previous Minister to remove people with the expertise of Ross Wilson and Wayne Butston. However, health professionals and those with expertise in areas such as injury prevention and rehabilitation should also be considered. A broad base is required.”
“A new board should then make sure that it appoints a Chief Executive with a public service background,” said Ms. Armstrong. “ACC is a public sector agency with an obligation to serve the public and meet the public accountability that goes with the territory. We need someone who understands that, and a leader from a private sector insurance background just doesn’t have the right grounding.”
“ACC has had a chequered history in chief executives over the last decade or so, and those that have done best have been those, such as Jan White, who have that public sector experience. That is the kind of person the board needs to look to,” concluded Ms. Armstrong.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1206/S00232/call-for-balance-in-acc-leadership.htm

Coalition calls for forum on ACC

A press release from the ACC Futures Coalition

The ACC Futures Coalition today called on Minister Judith Collins to set up a forum on the future of ACC involving all the stakeholders, including claimant groups, health provider groups and unions, as well as business interests.
“We are deeply concerned about the loss of trust in ACC,” said ACC Futures Coalition spokesperson Hazel Armstrong, “and we think that we need to get all the stakeholders in the room to talk about how we restore the integrity of the scheme. We think the Minister is rethinking how the scheme operates but she is not talking to all those with an interest. It appears to us that it is only business interests and levy payers that have any influence at the moment and that needs to be rectified. A forum of the type we are calling for would provide that opportunity.”
“The ACC Futures Coalition does not agree that the Minister needs to resign,” said Ms Armstrong. “We think she inherited a situation from Nick Smith and she is working with a bad hand to try and rectify things. However, she needs to think more deeply about the cultural issues than she appears to be at the moment and that includes talking to groups like us. We have sought meetings with her in the past with no success.”
“The opportunity for a rethink has also been reinforced by the resignation of Ralph Stewart as Chief Executive,” said Ms. Armstrong. “He came from an insurance background and we need to reconnect to the social welfare intent and purpose of the scheme as originally designed by Sir Owen Woodhouse. We call on the Minister to seize the opportunity and establish a broad-based forum on the future of ACC.”

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1206/S00172/coalition-calls-for-forum-on-acc.htm

ACC: time to rebuild trust

A press release from the ACC Futures Coalition

The ACC Futures Coalition today welcomed the announcement that ACC Chair John Judge was stepping down and the call by Minister Collins that ACC must refocus on rebuilding public trust and confidence.
“The resignation of John Judge presents ACC with a real opportunity to rebuild trust in the scheme and in the corporation,” said Hazel Armstrong spokesperson for the ACC Futures Coalition. “While the recent privacy issues have greatly increased the pressure on the leadership of ACC, John Judge was associated more widely with the policy and operational shift towards an insurance model, which has seen many claimants either excluded from the scheme or pushed back into work before they are ready.”
“This corporate approach, together with the privacy issue, has undermined the integrity of the scheme,” said Ms. Armstrong. “We agree with the Minister that ACC must refocus on rebuilding public trust and confidence, but that is across the board, not just tightening up on how personal details are managed.”
“Great care needs to be taken in selecting the next chair of ACC,” said Ms. Armstrong. “We need someone of integrity who has a commitment to the scheme as it was originally envisaged, not just another corporate power broker who thinks that they are running an insurance company.”

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1206/S00161/acc-time-to-rebuild-trust.htm

Inquiry by Auditor-General welcomed

A press release from the ACC Futures Coalition

The ACC Futures Coalition today welcomed the announcement by the Auditor-General Lyn Provost that her office will conduct an inquiry into aspects of ACC’s governance that will not be examined by other investigations by the Privacy Commissioner and possibly the Police.
“The announcement of this inquiry should be good news for ordinary claimants at ACC,” said ACC Futures spokesperson Hazel Armstrong. “We have been concerned for some time at the culture that has developed at the top of ACC over the last four years that has led to an increasing number of claims being rejected and an increase in appeals against ACC’s decisions. The legislative changes in 2010, the clearing out of the Board by the previous Minister and the relentless focus on ACC as an insurer rather than as an integral part of our social services, have all contributed to this rather toxic culture”.
“We hope that this inquiry, with its focus on governance might begin to lift the stone on this way of working,” said Ms Armstrong. “Strictly speaking these issues are outside the terms of reference but we hope that if the Auditor-General does turn up wider issues of governance that she will utilise that part of her terms of reference that allows her to report on any other matters that she considers desirable.”
“We also welcome the inquiry because it is likely to be an important step in enabling the corporation, and those it is meant to serve, to move past the recent turmoil and get on with delivering services that meet the needs of injured New Zealanders,” said Ms Armstrong. “In all the recent claims and counter claims the needs of ACC claimants and beneficiaries have been overlooked and we trust that ACC will be able move forward once the report is completed and any recommendations implemented”.
The ACC Futures Coalition consists of community groups, academics, organisations representing people who need support from ACC, health treatment providers and unions who have come together around the following aim:
To build cross-party support for retaining the status of ACC as a publicly-owned single provider committed to the ‘Woodhouse Principles’, with a view to maintaining and improving the provision of injury prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and ‘no fault’ compensation social insurance system for all New Zealanders.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1204/S00192/inquiry-by-auditor-general-welcomed.htm

Levy cuts show government up

A press release from the ACC Futures Coalition

The announcement today that ACC levies will be drastically cut shows the government cried wolf when it told New Zealanders the ACC scheme was in a funding crisis, according to the ACC Futures Coalition.
“The size of the cuts indicates that Nick Smith’s statements in 2009 that ‘if ACC was an insurance company, it would be insolvent’ was overstated and scaremongering,” said ACC Futures Coalition spokesperson Hazel Armstrong. “ACC has had a substantial cash surplus every year since 2008. Their investments took a hit in the financial crisis but they have come back strongly, as was reasonably predictable based on the better than average performance of the investment team at ACC.
“The government hit the panic button in 2009 and hacked into claims costs, targeting areas like elective surgery, long term claims, sensitive claims and hearing loss. Nearly 40% of the savings that have allowed the levy to be cut have come from cutting claims costs, which will have involved declining more claims,” said Ms Armstrong.
“They overstepped the mark in cutting back on elective surgery – declines increased from 11% in 07/08 to 22% in 09/10, which was outrageous, and many people who should have been treated missed out. Their own internal review report released in May this year showed that they had got it wrong.”
There has been a 20% reduction of people on long term claims. Unfortunately injured people have been kicked off the scheme before they are ready to return to work. The courts are clogged up with cases pending a hearing or waiting on a decision from the court. There are 800 cases currently before the courts. Just a day or two ago the Supreme Court has just issued a landmark decision saying that ACC must comply with the law before it sends people off for vocational independence assessments.
“It is not clear to us whether the government knows what it is doing,” said Ms Armstrong. “If they did know that they could make changes that would lead to levies being reduced (by 17% in the case of earners and 22% in the case of employers) then it appears that they have manipulated the situation just in time for election year. If they didn’t know then they have damaged a lot of people along the way while pursuing illusory actuarial targets. Which is it?”

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1107/S00113/levy-cuts-show-government-up.htm

Call for inquiry into ACC

A press release by the ACC Futures Coalition

The avalanche of rejected ACC claims for surgery currently being publiciised by the NZ Herald should trigger an independent inquiry into ACC, according to the ACC Futures Coalition.
“The internal review announced today in Parliament by the Minister is not good enough”, said Hazel Armstrong spokesperson for the ACC Futures Coalition. “Indeed the fact that he has had to give ACC instructions to fairly meet its legislative obligations is an admission that ACC has lost its direction.
“We are daily seeing a litany of poor decisions by ACC using degeneration and pre-existing conditions as a rationale to refuse legitimate claims for surgery,” said Hazel Armstrong. “Hundreds of New Zealanders who have paid their levies are being denied reasonable entitlements under the scheme.
“This is part of the same picture that we have seen developing since the beginning of last year. The government began with a manufactured crisis in ACC’s finances and have used this as a justification to deliberately and consistently undermine the scheme.
“We have seen the victims of sexual abuse put through ridiculous and stressful hoops in order to have access to counselling under the scheme. We have seen legislative change that has severely curtailed entitlements. We have seen the exclusion of those with less than 6% work-related hearing loss excluded from coverage and recent hearing regulations transfer the cost of hearing needs assessment, fitting and hearing devices onto the health system and individuals. We have seen an increase of people being pushed off ACC compensation onto sickness and invalids benefits and now there is a growing group of ordinary New Zealanders being denied surgery for injuries that most sensible people would see as being appropriately covered by ACC,” said Ms. Armstrong.
“There is a pattern here and that pattern is about discrediting our world-class ACC scheme so that it can be set up for radical change, probably involving full or partial privatisation,” said Ms Armstrong. “ACC is utilising private sector insurance techniques which are impacting negatively on legitimate claimants. The last thing we need is more private sector involvement.
“When the government finally undertook a review of ACC’s processes in the area of sensitive claims it revealed problems with ACC’s approach and a rethinking of how the claims of sexual abuse victims were being managed,” said Ms. Armstrong. “With this latest list of problems it is clear that we need a comprehensive and independent inquiry into how ACC is performing against the principles on which it was established and how it can be restored to meet those principles again.
“We call on the government or the Transport and Industrial Relations Select Committee to establish such an inquiry as soon as possible,” Ms Armstrong said.
The ACC Futures Coalition consists of community groups, academics, organisations representing people who need support from ACC, health treatment providers and unions who have come together around the following aim: To build cross-party support for retaining the status of ACC as a publicly-owned single provider committed to the ‘Woodhouse Principles’, with a view to maintaining and improving the provision of injury prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and ‘no fault’ compensation social insurance system for all New Zealanders.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO1012/S00181/call-for-inquiry-into-acc.htm