ACC provides cover for acupuncture for all New Zealand citizens, residents and temporary visitors who sustain a personal injury in New Zealand from general injuries from accidents
First, the injured person needs to visit a treatment provider either a GP, doctor, physiotherapist or hospital. The provider or hospital do an assessment and lodge an ACC 45 injury claim form. ACC will receive the form and decide on cover, if the cover is accepted the injured person can receive treatment from an acc registered acupuncturist. With acupuncture, you are allocated up to 12 treatments over a period of 12 weeks from the date of the first acupuncture treatment. With the acc injury cover, you can see other providers such as a physiotherapist, chiropractor, or osteopath this will not affect your allocated acupuncture treatments.
ACC funds two sets of treatment modalities within acupuncture services, conventional therapies and adjunct therapies. Conventional therapies are comprised of traditional acupuncture, western acupuncture, electroacupuncture, and auricular acupuncture; the adjunct therapies include cupping, Gua Sha scraping, tuina massage, and moxibustion.
cc covers personal physical injuries and may cover work-related gradual onset injuries and mental injuries.
ACC covers most of the cost for an acupuncture treatment you will need to pay a small surcharge of 30$
Acupuncture and the adjunct therapies of cupping, Gua Sha scraping, tuina massage, and moxibustion are very helpful to heal and recover from injuries. Acupuncture is very effective for reducing pain both chronic and acute, decreasing inflammation and swelling, decreasing reliance on pain medication, improving scar tissue, reducing anxiety and stress due to injury or surgery.