Very good and relatively inexpensive. Most hospitals were run by churches and charities so cost was kept to a minimum and volunteers were plentiful. That all changed in 1965 with the passing of the Medicare bill under LBJ's Great Society. Then the vultures lept in to rape the government. Medicare was to pay what private insurance didn't pay but that was mysteriously reversed. The insurance companies, health care providers and the politicians have all colluded to keep costs up. The same will happen to the proposed Prescription Drug program.