Progress was made in transporting many recovering patients great distances and procedures to treat and eradicate diseases were refined to such a degree that society decided to follow the military example of healthcare delivery. The Hill-Burton Act also known as the Hospital Survey and Construction Act was enacted in 1946 authorizing grants to states for hospital construction and modernization. This led to the rise of hospitals as well as reimbursement methods such as Medicare and Medicaid. (Sloane & Harder 4).
Hospitals have undergone extensive changes that have allowed healthcare to be delivered more effectively and less expensively. With the emergence of ambulatory care centers it no longer required patients to receive medical and therapeutic care on an in-patient (overnight stay) basis if not medically necessary. Other changes include the continued growth of HMOs, PPOs, integrated delivery systems, nursing homes, assisted living centers and other facilities. However as the economy forces the healthcare industry to "curb" its costs and at the same time survive, more and more efficient methods of delivery are being developed everyday.
According to the Health Care Finance Administration (HCFA), $3.6 billion is spent on purchasing healthcare services for the 75 million beneficiaries of Medicare, Medicaid and an additional 10 million uninsured children under the Children's Health Insurance program every year. Regardless of the amount spent, there still are comments that healthcare spending is not enough. With new technology, medication and services, costs are ever increasing.
Many areas of the public life will be greatly affected by the aging baby boom generation as they begin to turn 60 around 2006 and 65 by 2011. The number of elderly people constitutes 13% of the American population today, according to the Administration on Aging. Since the number of elderly and the rate of aging are expected to increase steeply (see chart), it calls for an increase in healthcare providers, therefore greater expenditures (federal and personal) as well as influence much of our social lives regarding family, education, business and government.