Why, indeed. Perhaps the answer, to an extent, lies in your mention of the words 'technological world'. Technology means hugely increasing costs for our health systems - equipment, drugs, techniques, tests, new diagnosis, the list goes on. How many CABG's, transplants, knee reconstructions, hip replacements, etc were done 50 years ago? Technology has also seen a rise in life expectancy, such that people are needing the health system who in previous generations would have been, to put it bluntly, dead. At the same time, our lifestyles have changed to the extent that 'over' nutrition is more of a problem than 'under' nutrition. Our expectations of what the health system should provide has also increased. Wage pressures to staff hospitals are another factor. The answer is not a simple one.