Abstract
As of April 2020, the United States is in a state of complete and utter crisis. This paper seeks to acknowledge and critique the inherent failings present in the neoliberal system of healthcare adopted by the United States. By identifying and criticizing components of insurance, employment, and the fetishization of marketplace competition, I will make a Foucauldian analysis of the flawed power structures existing within a privatized health system. The goal of this article is to articulate and make clear the case for the implementation of a single-payer system in the United States, which would see a much vaster and more equitable breadth of positive health outcomes. New language will be introduced such as the idea of health outcomes and health justice. Both concepts encompass principles and values that should exist within a progressive healthcare system functioning within the borders of the wealthiest country in world history. The extent to which COVID-19 exposes what this paper considers to be inherent shortcomings and expected failures within the healthcare system is used as further evidence to encourage the reconstruction of the US healthcare system into that of a single payer infrastructure.
Date
Fall 2020
Citation Style
APA