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A Hastings tetraplegic has won a battle to have his new medication fully funded by ACC and has received an apology from the organisation.
ACC had supported Jared Thomas since his life-changing car crash in 2007.
Thomas, 41, was a passenger in the crash, which killed two people.
He has since become an anti-drink driving advocate, including speaking in schools over the years, and said ACC had generally been “excellent” in supporting him since the crash.
However, in early December he was shocked to learn via email that funding was being significantly cut for his new medication, Mucinex, which would no longer be fully funded.
“Jared’s Mucinex prescription has been fully funded by ACC since March, by way of reimbursements,” ACC deputy chief executive for service delivery Amanda Malu said.
“As discussed with Jared, we were assessing the future funding of this medication. A decision was made recently on Jared’s claim to continue to partly fund his prescription, a decision which was challenged by Jared.
“As a result, we reviewed our decision, and have since agreed to fully fund the medication.
Jared Thomas says it has been a stressful process. Photo / Paul Taylor
“I apologise to Jared for the frustration this must have caused and hope this decision has cleared things up for him.”
Thomas said he appreciated the apology.
“It is a burden that has been relieved but it was a bit of a stressful thing having to deal with that - with no notice.”
He said “the drug has certainly made things a lot easier for me” and he was rapt he could continue taking it.
He said he would not have been able to afford it otherwise.
“It is stressful starting something [new]. You go to the doctors and everything is set in stone and working well and going as planned and then boom, something like this comes up out of the blue.”
Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke’s Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.
* Clarification: An earlier version of this story said that ACC’s reversal of the decision came after an inquiry from Hawke’s Bay Today. While the reversal was made the day after the media inquiry, the inquiry was immaterial to ACC’s decision outcome and the pace of its decision.
