Pandemic, Epidemic, and Systemic Issues in US Healthcare: Discussing the Dynamics of a Hybrid Model and its Impact on Varied Communities

Healthcare in the United States has long been a politically contentious topic. Relying primarily on a decentralized (and profit-driven) system, patient care and healthcare mandates in the US vary considerably across jurisdictions. However, widespread, inherent problems such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the opiate crisis have significant long-term impacts on communities with little regard for political or demographic boundaries. These issues, while very different, overlap in their relationship to the systemic problems that have allowed their broad dispersal. Yet, many Americans express reluctance toward public health reform and disdain for the idea of a socialized system. Furthermore, Americans are often diluted into a false narrative of ‘system superiority’—a hegemonic and elitist ideology rooted in the cultural mechanisms of the state (e.g., media, corporate power) and internalized by its subjects, who are rendered unable to think critically. These attitudes reflect a devotion to the ideology of the “American Dream” that overlooks the problems endemic to capitalist societies. This article will discuss US healthcare, its influence that led to the opioid epidemic and the continued spread of COVID-19, and American agnosis toward addressing culpability and aspirations for advancement.