Why should I pay to make someone’s job easier?

Warning: Explicit medical talk about female genitalia. Do not read any further if you are squeamish.

Part of the reason I treated myself to a movie today (see the post below) was to forget how the day started. I had a cervical smear. This is one of those necessary events that women do not look forward to. To those men reading this, think of having a prostate exam and you’ll have some understanding. No matter how secure I am with my sexuality I can’t help feeling uncomfortable having a woman sticking things inside my vagina.

But before the procedure happened I was informed that I could pay $21 for a Thin Prep test. Being frugal I was not about to part with money before I knew all the facts. So I asked what a Thin Prep test was and how it differed from a normal test. I was told that the normal test, which the New Zealand government pays for, consists of taking a sample of my cervical cells and smearing it on a slide. The cells for a Thin Prep test, which I would have to pay for, are put into liquid and sent to the lab. The liquid is then spun at high speed to remove unnecessary things, like blood and mucus. All that is left are the cells which are then examined for abnormalities. This test is better because the cells are easily viewed, whereas the normal test is more difficult since blood and mucus on the slide can obscure the cervical cells.

I made the comment to the nurse that as I understood it I was being asked to pay for a procedure that made things easier for the testing lab. She agreed with my statement and we both wondered why the government wasn’t funding the Thin Prep test. I don’t know what it costs for the traditional slide method of testing, but if this new form of testing is faster and more accurate wouldn’t it make sense that it would save money by freeing up time and resources at the testing lab?

I decided to pay the extra $21 for the Thin Prep test because I don’t trust the traditional method any more due to the Gisborne cervical smear mess-up in the 1990s. I’m surprised the New Zealand Government doesn’t fund this new test regardless of the cost. It would make sense to pay for a procedure that may protect them against another scandal and lawsuits. You would think they would learn from the past.

Maybe they don’t have any money left for funding and have decided to pass the buck. Maybe they feel that if they put the decision and cost of testing onto the women that if another screw-up happens they can blame it on the women who did not spend the extra $21. I think a government should do all it can to protect its residents – those people who vote and pay for the government to exist.

However now that my test is done, hopefully I won’t have to do it again for at least three years. I’m crossing my fingers that the lab reads the results correctly!