In her article, Gardner (2011) claims that Americans need affordable health care because it is their right. Furthermore, politicians should focus on benefits associated with the promotion of the Affordable Care Act in spite of the fact that it violates the norms of the modern healthcare market. Finally, nurses also have the power to change the situation and formulate their vision of the problem. The author promotes the idea of affordable care for all Americans, and it is possible to agree with her position. The reason is that health is a human right that should be guaranteed and protected by authorities (Barnett-Vanes, Hung, Maruthappu, Shalhoub, & Chan, 2013). If individuals need to pay for supporting their health, they can lose their trust in the authorities and their abilities to provide appropriate social conditions for the population.
Such aspects as nutrition, access to safe water, access to healthcare, and living conditions, including shelter and clothing, among others, are known as the social determinants of health. If a person has access to the good food and clean water, and financial resources are enough to provide his or her with the shelter and care, there are enough conditions to develop as a healthy person, as well as to work and live productively (Marmot, Allen, Bell, Bloomer, & Goldblatt, 2012). However, certain social policies can change the situation and influence the availability of important resources for people. The Affordable Care Act discussed by Gardner (2011), in her article, is one of these policies.
The main ideas promoted by Gardner (2011) are the necessity of the available health care and the importance of the free delivery of healthcare services without discriminating uninsured persons and making the healthcare system a market. These topics are important for understanding the role of the social determinants because, currently, those people who cannot prove that they have enough resources to support their health and receive the insurance are often deprived of the right to change the situation and receive access to free healthcare services. The new approach to the healthcare delivery system should break the discussed cycle that prevents people from their main right: to be healthy.
The available health care promoted according to the principles of the Affordable Care Act means that all Americans can receive assistance and a chance to improve their health without reference to their environments or socioeconomic status. The other topic is related to the problem of the financial aspect of the healthcare system, and it directly influences the creation of environments for promoting health. If the healthcare market can accept uninsured and low-income persons, it is possible to expect the improvement of the health status of the nation.
The necessity of guaranteeing affordable care can be illustrated with different examples. For instance, a middle-aged single woman who is not employed because of her history of diseases and who is not provided with private insurance has the chance to receive the appropriate care covered only by Medicaid. If this woman has no Medicaid, there are few other resources to cover expenses associated with the necessity to purchase medications and visit doctors to monitor her chronic conditions. The Act provides the chance to receive assistance and overcome the market frame of the modern healthcare system for such persons.
References
Barnett-Vanes, A., Hung, K. K., Maruthappu, M., Shalhoub, J., & Chan, E. Y. (2013). Health after 2015: A human right? The Lancet, 381(9848), 1972-1978.
Gardner, D. (2011). Deconstructing health care reform. Nursing Economics, 29(3), 147-149.
Marmot, M., Allen, J., Bell, R., Bloomer, E., & Goldblatt, P. (2012). WHO European review of social determinants of health and the health divide. The Lancet, 380(9846), 1011-1029.