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The Herald
January 12, 2002
ACC fraud unit gets $1m back
The
Accident Compensation Corporation recovered more than $1 million from
fraudulent claimants last year.
The Minister for Accident Insurance, Lianne
Dalziel, said in replies to written questions in Parliament that the
corporation's fraud unit had investigated 789 people suspected of making
fraudulent compensation claims, recovering $604,255.
In addition, the courts awarded ACC $531,014 in reparations from fraud
prosecutions.
The figures come as concerns are raised about the possibility of an increase
in fraudulent claims after the reintroduction of lump-sum compensation from
April 1 this year.
Some believe that advantage will be taken of the scheme if claims of sexual
abuse not proven in court qualify for lump-sum compensation.
Much of the workload of ACC's fraud unit in recent times has arisen from
health professionals carrying out "phantom billing".
In the year to the end of last June, 39 health professionals were
investigated by ACC's fraud unit.
A further 100 had "unusual" billing monitored.
The corporation deals with about $200,000 of fraud by phantom billing
annually.
In the past year, one medical practice had to refund $59,000 to ACC after it
was found to have billed the corporation for non-existent accident victims.
The practice was closed and sold.
ACC also revealed that nearly 200 New Zealanders living overseas cost
taxpayers an estimated $54 million in accident compensation in the past 12
years.
Fraud unit manager Robert Liberona said last year that since August 2000, the
unit had identified 193 overseas claimants who had received an average
$250,000 in compensation.
The average person received compensation for 12 years.
Once the costs of reports and rehabilitation were added, the average cost to
the corporation for each patient was about $280,000 over 12 years.
Mr Liberona said a quarter of the 193 had not given ACC an overseas address.
Nearly 90 per cent of those traced were living in Australia, and 50 per cent of
them were on the Gold Coast.
Mr Liberona said 50 per cent of the claimants were receiving compensation for
soft-tissue injuries such as back and ankle strains.
Back injuries accounted for 40 per cent of the total.
The corporation normally expected such injuries to be resolved within 12
months.
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