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Before people say that this school will get sued, it is useful to know that this school is in New Zealand. Because of the way our healthcare system works, we c

Before people say that this school will get sued, it is useful to know that this school is in New Zealand. Because of the way our healthcare system works, we cannot sue for personal injury here [1]. >Because of the wide range of help available from ACC after an injury, you can’t sue for personal injury in New Zealand, except for exemplary damages. This applies to overseas tourists too. [1] http://www.acc.co.nz/about-acc/overview-of-acc/introduction-to-acc/ http://www.acc.co.nz/about-acc/overview-of-acc/introduction-...

patrickdavey 13y ago
ACC is possibly the best thing about NZ, and most surprising. For example, you can go hiking (tramping as they call it here), fall down, break a leg... and ACC will fly out a helicopter to get you, bring you to the hospital, patch you up and send you on your way. All at no cost to you. As OP said, this counts for anyone on NZ soil, regardless of nationality. Keeps lawyers at bay. It's great. I know of friends in the US who don't go mountain biking etc. because they're between jobs and can't afford the potential hospital bills. That is simply sad.
- aunty_helen 13y ago
  'All at no cost to you.' Really? the 400$ a year I pay for my motorbike rego that goes straight to ACC is no cost to me? (I do think it's a pretty good system however)
  - alongenemylines 13y ago
    Compare that to the thousands of dollars an average medical plan in the US costs - and we still have to pay out of pocket for many medical expenses too! I'd much rather pay $400 a year.
    - aunty_helen 13y ago
      The 400$ only covers the use of a bike. There's also 0.95% of you salary taxed for workplace injuries and 1.26% for non-work injuries. Then there's car registration which is about 200$/yr and a tax added to petrol which comes included in the $/Litre cost (they put the figure at 330$/yr). 2600$ is a rough estimate of my ACC levies paid each year. I think there's also some portion of cigarettes and booze that goes to ACC as well. One of the negatives is that when you're in need of an operation but it's not immediately life threatening you're prioritised and end up on a wait list which could be several years long. A bit off topic, but there are definitely good and bad aspects to both systems. http://www.acc.co.nz/about-acc/levies/current-years-levy-rates/index.htm http://www.acc.co.nz/about-acc/levies/current-years-levy-rat...

patrickdavey 13y ago

ACC is possibly the best thing about NZ, and most surprising. For example, you can go hiking (tramping as they call it here), fall down, break a leg... and ACC will fly out a helicopter to get you, bring you to the hospital, patch you up and send you on your way. All at no cost to you. As OP said, this counts for anyone on NZ soil, regardless of nationality. Keeps lawyers at bay. It's great. I know of friends in the US who don't go mountain biking etc. because they're between jobs and can't afford the potential hospital bills. That is simply sad.

aunty_helen 13y ago
'All at no cost to you.' Really? the 400$ a year I pay for my motorbike rego that goes straight to ACC is no cost to me? (I do think it's a pretty good system however)
- alongenemylines 13y ago
  Compare that to the thousands of dollars an average medical plan in the US costs - and we still have to pay out of pocket for many medical expenses too! I'd much rather pay $400 a year.
  - aunty_helen 13y ago
    The 400$ only covers the use of a bike. There's also 0.95% of you salary taxed for workplace injuries and 1.26% for non-work injuries. Then there's car registration which is about 200$/yr and a tax added to petrol which comes included in the $/Litre cost (they put the figure at 330$/yr). 2600$ is a rough estimate of my ACC levies paid each year. I think there's also some portion of cigarettes and booze that goes to ACC as well. One of the negatives is that when you're in need of an operation but it's not immediately life threatening you're prioritised and end up on a wait list which could be several years long. A bit off topic, but there are definitely good and bad aspects to both systems. http://www.acc.co.nz/about-acc/levies/current-years-levy-rates/index.htm http://www.acc.co.nz/about-acc/levies/current-years-levy-rat...