Quote:

hip replacement" patients must wait many months for their surgery. Remember, nobody regularly had these surgeries until a few years ago.



My great-aunt got a hip replacement like 15 years ago. She was in her early 80's at the time and there was never any worry that she wouldn't recover. They just knew it was going to take years.

You're general point sounds right, and it's what people in the US are concerned about with ObamaCare. But, hip replacements aren't new. Maybe you're just saying they've gotten a lot more popular?