Mike's Minute: ACC is being scammed, but it can be fixed

ACC is in crisis. 

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? 

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