>>What’s happened since that time is very simple ~ medicine has advanced and they can cure stuff you used to die from. That costs something.
Everybody always forgets that part. In 1966, your first heart attack was probably your last. Cancer was a death sentence. “Exploratory surgery” was the only way doctors could see what was going on inside you. There was no simple knee surgery to clean out the joint and get you back on your feet in hours. The list just goes on forever and it’s incredible to think of how far we’ve come.
If you managed to severe one of the ligaments that hold your kneecap to your legs you were SOL. They didn't fix that stuff ~ just let it "heal naturally" and that can take years.
We also had not yet experienced the Carter Inflation ~ for many products and services that produced a 10X inflation! In 1966 the $1.25 basic care policy became a $12.50 basic care policy in 1978