Walking into 1305 York Avenue for the first time, one feels almost imbued with a sense of awe. Set in the heart of Manhattan’s Upper East Side, Weill Cornell Medical Center oozes money, power, and privilege. Met by smiling residents when you are sent to an examination room, a newcomer could easily fall under the erroneous impression that this is a medical facility governed by principals of humanity, ethics, and compassion for all.
It is only later that one learns that all patients that walk through the door of Weill Cornell are put into two categories: the humans, who are deemed by Cornell to have “good insurance,” and the subhumans, who are deemed by Cornell to have “bad insurance.” If you fall into the category of the former, they will generally make a grudging effort to provide you with good care. If you fall into the category of the later, they will literally bend over backwards to see to it that you are provided with truly awful and atrocious care.
Cornell is a metaphor for all that is wrong in 21st Century American society. That in the year 2017, patients with different forms of medical insurance can be deliberately provided with radically different forms of medical care is a disgrace, a scandal, and an outrage; yet this is barely met with so much as a yawn from our mainstream press and media.
Indeed millions of Americans find nothing wrong in this practice as they have been indoctrinated to believe that it is perfectly natural for wealthy and…