Ministry gives pensioner $20,000, then grabs it back

Barely a week after John Wright was refunded $20,000 for his wife's medical care, he was told by the Ministry of Health that the money would have to be returned.

Mr Wright, of Rotorua, has lived in New Zealand for 40 years and receives a British war pension. He had been paying all of that pension toward his wife Joy's medical care.

Mrs Wright -- also a war veteran -- had a stroke requiring full-time care about 18 months ago and moved into Rotorua's Redwood Lodge. New Zealand war veterans only pay 50 per cent of their pension in the same scenario.

Last week HealthPAC -- an arm of the Ministry of Health -- told Mr Wright there had been a mistake and he was refunded $20,756.03. He stopped paying money for his wife's care.

But this week a stunned Mr Wright was visited by a HealthPAC representative and a senior official from the Ministry of Health.

They asked for the return of the $20,756.03 "paid in error" and told Mr Wright he would have to continue paying for his wife's care.

"I can't believe it, I'm really angry," he said. "This is my life we are talking about.

"I was told in writing to cancel the payments and given the money back and now I'm told it is a big mistake and to refund the money. I'm totally disgusted. Now I will be in financial chaos."

Minister of Health Pete Hodgson said he would be making inquiries into how the mistake was made.

"The situation has caused stress to an elderly man. I regret this. It is unacceptable and I have asked the Ministry of Health to audit the events that caused the overpayment."

HealthPAC made a mistake by advising the rest home it would be paying for Mrs Wright's care and reimbursing the money, said Debbie Chin, deputy director-general for corporate and information at the Ministry of Health.

The department was in discussions with Mr Wright about the return of the money which was paid after a series of mistakes by HealthPAC, Ms Chin said.

"The Ministry acknowledges that the errors were unacceptable and the Ministry has ordered an immediate and independent review of HealthPAC's processes that gave rise to this error," she said.

Until any decision was made over the treatment of private overseas pensions, Mr Wright would have to continue paying all of his army pension towards his wife's care, Ms Chin said.

- DAILY POST (ROTORUA)