Physiotherapy cuts from ACC ‘will impact’

ACC payment cuts to physiotherapy providers will have nasty consequences for struggling accident victims, a Masterton operator fears.
Michael Harnett, whose Rehab Physio Centre is Wairarapa's only ACC contract provider, said the just-announced cuts will mean his business won't be able to provide a free service to ACC clients anymore.
From November 16, ACC will begin paying about one-third less to contracted physiotherapists for consultations for ACC clients.
"ACC is paying $41 per visit at the moment inclusive of GST, but now they've turned around and said they're going to pay $31, cutting it down by $10 - and it's going to be the patients that pay the balance."
He said about 90 percent of patients were ACC clients and without the subsidy, many of them would not be able to afford it and would no longer consider physiotherapy important.
Mr Harnett was especially worried about the impact the change would have on the Maori and Pacific Island client base, which had been increasing under the current arrangement.
As for the effects on his own business, he said there would be some impact but was confident the quality of its service would see it remain competitive.
"It's unsettling for staff - but I guess it all depends on the value clients place in our physiotherapy service. We work really hard because we are accredited as being of a higher standard. I'd be confident that with the staff I have in Masterton, it wouldn't change much."
Mr Harnett, who believes physiotherapy is the most important part of a victim's recovery, believed ACC could have got the results it was after by instead tweaking the system it uses to measure outcomes.
"The problem with ACC is that it doesn't have good quality research. The only outcome measure it uses is return to work rates, when a lot of people undergo rehabilitation while still at work.
"I don't think they're bringing in any conclusive proof that the changes they are making will make a difference.
"ACC has not addressed the real effect of physio, because they've got nothing in place to accurately measure it scientifically, nor have they bothered."
He suspected there were other serious downstream effects that ACC had not considered, such as issues between clients and their employers, that would force ACC to have a rethink when it reviewed the new contract after 12 months.
New Zealand Society of Physiotherapists president John Warren also said the change would be bad news for patients and clinics.
"If a patient doesn't get early treatment for an injury, recovery can take much longer and their health may suffer in the long-run.
"In some cases a simple problem, untreated, can lead to permanent disability," Mr Warren said.
"I expect that as fewer people seek treatment, some clinics will have to cut staff, and others may even be forced to close. Reducing the physiotherapy workforce will reduce the country's ability to meet health targets."
In some physiotherapy clinics that did not sign up to the earlier ACC contract, patients already pay part of the cost of their treatment - and this is unlikely to change.
ACC spokeswoman Gail Kettle said rises in physiotherapy costs had been "unsustainable" for levy payers and the ACC scheme and "did not belong in a value-for-money environment".
"There was a 214 percent increase in costs between 2000 and 2008. The cost of physiotherapy in 1999/2000 was $39.7 million. In 2008/09 alone, physiotherapy cost levy payers $144 million and, without change, this is forecast to increase to $232 million by 2013/14.
"There was also a 60.2 percent increase in treatment volumes between 2000 and 2008. Since 2004, with the introduction of free physiotherapy through the Endorsed Provider Network, the volume of claims rose 45.5 percent.
"We are also concerned that free physiotherapy has not led to more rapid recovery for clients who are injured. We are very clear that where we fund physiotherapy, we want to see measurable client benefits."