Free, that is, to Maori and Pacific women (or to use Te Whatu Ora’s terminology, “people with a cervix”), those with a community services card, and those who have never been screened or not within the last five years.
Te Whatu Ora claims the new initiative is about improving access.
Yes, the rates of cervical screening are lower among Maori and Pacific but the same is true of Asian women. If targeting by race is to achieve equity, why omit Asian women from the free service? In any case, while NZ European women have the highest screening rate, in absolute numbers they still make up the largest group of non-screened.
Alternatively, if preferential treatment is simply to satisfy another new-found Treaty of Waitangi principle, why are Pacific women included?
In practice, Maori and Pacific women who can afford and have regularly used the screening service will be switched to the free programme while other ethnic groups will continue to pay. That’s certainly not equitable.
The truth is many women put off testing due to discomfit, inconvenience or fear of cancer. The new self-tests will hopefully remove some of these barriers, but they should either be free for all or a cost for all. Analysing their take-up will be confused by varying accessibility.
Making Maori and Pacific ethnicity a condition for free eligibility cannot be justified on any sound basis. A publicly funded health system can never guarantee equal outcomes, but it can do its utmost to offer equal opportunity.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins recently took a step back when the public reacted adversely to the use of ethnicity to decide priority for surgery saying he would get the Health Minister to “make sure there’s no discrimination.”
But Te Whatu Ora just steamrolls on with exclusionary policies based on race. There is no other name for this approach than discrimination.
Lindsay Mitchell is a welfare commentator who blogs HERE.
Alternatively, if preferential treatment is simply to satisfy another new-found Treaty of Waitangi principle, why are Pacific women included?
In practice, Maori and Pacific women who can afford and have regularly used the screening service will be switched to the free programme while other ethnic groups will continue to pay. That’s certainly not equitable.
The truth is many women put off testing due to discomfit, inconvenience or fear of cancer. The new self-tests will hopefully remove some of these barriers, but they should either be free for all or a cost for all. Analysing their take-up will be confused by varying accessibility.
Making Maori and Pacific ethnicity a condition for free eligibility cannot be justified on any sound basis. A publicly funded health system can never guarantee equal outcomes, but it can do its utmost to offer equal opportunity.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins recently took a step back when the public reacted adversely to the use of ethnicity to decide priority for surgery saying he would get the Health Minister to “make sure there’s no discrimination.”
But Te Whatu Ora just steamrolls on with exclusionary policies based on race. There is no other name for this approach than discrimination.
Lindsay Mitchell is a welfare commentator who blogs HERE.
4 comments:
The NZ Health Department are just following their racist orders.
We are almost at peak apartheid.
Is this what a decolonised New Zealand will look like?
Anna sadly nz will be similar to zimbabwe. Decolonisation means tribal law which is goes against western values which we have all known our whole lives. Values such as everyone is equal, crimes such as murder are not acceptable etc.
Jacinda Ardern made the captains call to waste $500million on RATS tests ,some now out of date. Inconceivably the population is subject to a Pharmac budget grudgingly given small budget increases and racial division within New Zealand for medical services . The former PM and Covid rostrum Doctor buddy should return their New Year honours which hang from their neck along with bereavement notices.
Well, Lindsay, I can think of a few others like: segregation; bias; prejudice; stereotyping; racial profiling; apartheid etc, but you're right, none should have a place in our multi-cultural democracy.
It's a despicable state of affairs and where is our useless Human Rights Commissioner? It was only a few months ago he was ranting on about "white supremacy and institional racism." Here's a clear case of racial preference and instutionalise racism and what....silence!
This is not the NZ I know and maybe a complaint to the UN is in order, to put Hunt and this discriminatory Government under the spotlight.
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