Health Care History Paper

Over the course of history, key events have helped to shape the hospital system in the United States. Among such events, the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid deserves special mention. The introduction of Medicare and Medicaid did change the face of American hospital system forever and it also paved the way for the populace of the United States to move closer to getting the benefits of universal health care plans in the long run.

If Medicare and Medicaid would not have been introduced then the hospital system of the nation would have been confined within certain limits that would have prevented the older generation of the nation from getting proper treatment. It must be noted in this regard that the introduction of Medicare and Medicaid turned the hospital system of the United States into a more benevolent one. It is a truth that, the Medicare program did remove “many of the financial barriers that prevented older people from seeking medical care

Medicare did gradually improve the conditions of hospitals in an immense manner. The administrators of non-accredited hospitals became able to convince their boards and their communities to help in improving the services of the hospital and this was possible primarily due to the Conditions of Participation that was laid down for Medicare (Stewart, 1967). Improvement in standards of services provided by the hospitals did improve the physical environment of such non-accredited hospitals and enabled them to “implement previously nebulous policies and procedures” (Stewart, 1967). Like Medicare, Medicaid has also helped in the process of turning the U.S. health care system into a generous one. Medicaid has paved the way for the poor to gain access to hospital care and other medical care. In this regard it is noteworthy that, “A large body of evidence shows that, compared to low-income uninsured children,