Zach Schwartz

Review of New York Eye and Ear Infirmary

If you are reading this in transit or while sittin...

If you are reading this in transit or while sitting in the waiting room, I would advise you to leave now. Health care in this country is badly, badly broken and New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is an shining example of that.

Listen: if you require more treatment than simply sitting uncomfortably for six hours, there will be additional fees.

The people of New York come to this clinic because it is listed at a reasonable price online. They come in a panic and in the fear that there has been some permanent damage to their sight. They miss work that they can't afford to miss. They wait in an overcrowded waiting room for 6-7 hours of time. At the end of the ordeal they receive a 3-5 minute assessment that may include the following advice:

- Maybe the scratch, if there is a scratch, isn't permanent.
- Maybe use a hot towel / compress.
- Maybe go buy some over the counter eye drops.
- Maybe come back in two weeks if the vision doesn't improve.

Regardless of the google-quality assessment received, what you can be certain of is the disingenuous nature of the billing. The fee listed online appears borderline charitable. It is a misrepresentation. The initial fee counts for nothing. Or, apparently, the initial fee is a facility fee, charged for the honor of spending 6+ hours on line and then in a clammy, windowless waiting room, huddled with your fellow exploited denizens...

Six months later you'll receive in the mail an additional bill for more than twice what you paid initially.

Listen: When you fear there has been some permanent damage to your sight with your eyes damaged, dilated or in some general state of disrepair for which you are seeking assistance you're likely not going to go over the fine print, should it even be legible.

With the prospect of permanent ailment, this clinic exists to exploit that fear and those who arrive in pain and seeking assistance. Please learn from my mistake. You will be at the mercy of shameless and immoral individuals.