The Dunedin resident said it was "toxic and divisive" that men in the South had to pay for prostate cancer PSMA PET-CT scans, which are funded by the public healthcare system for those in the Northern and Central regions.
Following an unsuccessful attempt to have the $3850 fee waived, the 70-year-old wanted to highlight the issue he believed was flying under the radar — especially as it was Prostate Cancer Awareness Month.
"Why should we all be penalised for living in Dunedin?" he said.
"Who you are or where you live should not determine the range and quality of services you receive. We should all have access to the best quality care when we need it."
Mr Muir was among the about 4000 men the Prostate Cancer Foundation New Zealand says are diagnosed with the disease each year, and among the one in eight men who will get it in their lifetime.
In February he underwent an open radical prostatectomy to remove his prostate.
However, blood samples showed the cancer was still present, and his surgeon recommended the scan as the best course of action, although it would not be funded by Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand (HNZ).
Its purpose was to better identify where prostate cancer had spread so treatment could be targeted.
Mr Muir went to Christchurch in April to have the scan, driving there and back on the same day in an effort to keep the cost as low as possible.
He then learned that such scans were funded in other parts of the country.
Since then he had sent about 18 emails contesting the fee, not only for his benefit but on behalf of all men in the South, he said.
Judging by the delayed government responses, he predicted there would be a lot of disappointed men in the region going forward.
Such inequality was shameful given that those who missed out were also taxpayers, he said.
"Silence can be read as consent. It’s important we all stand up now."
A PET-CT scanner had been planned for the new Dunedin hospital, but was lost as part of the $90 million design cutback announced last December.
It would have been the first publicly available PET-CT scanner anywhere in the country, as well as the second of any kind in the South Island.
National has promised to reinstate the scanner if it wins the election next month.
Mr Muir had raised the issue with Taieri MP Ingrid Leary, who in turn wrote to Minister of Health Ayesha Verrall.
It was the type of situation the health reforms aimed to solve, Ms Leary wrote.
"In the meantime it remains true that some of my constituents are being disadvantaged at a seriously stressful time for them — and that the quality of treatment may depend on the ability to pay for a PET scan."
HNZ Southern hospital and specialist services regional director Dan Pallister-Coward sent a letter which stated the minister asked him to respond.
Access to PET-CT scans were "inconsistent", he said.
"Currently the majority of men requiring a PSMA PET-CT in the Northern and Central regions are receiving publicly funded scans."
However, this scan was not publicly provided in the South Island, or in the Te Manawa Taki health region.
HNZ would work with the Cancer Control Agency, which was assessing the benefits and costs of expanding access to scans.
Where people lived should not determine the quality of services they received, he said.
"Progress is being made; however, it is important to note that change will take some time."
HNZ Southern group director of operations Hamish Brown said the cause of the issue was that now-abolished district health boards used to make individual decisions about funding.
"Te Whatu Ora is committed to improving these inequalities and reviewing current funding."
HNZ Southern used other diagnostic tools in the place of PET-CT scans at present, he said.
"We understand Pacific Radiology may be installing a PET scanner in Dunedin in the future."
HNZ Southern sympathised with those facing healthcare challenges and acknowledged the concern about access to some diagnostic tests, he said.
