There are two underlying factors:
1. Skill--most people are not capable of providing appropriate care to people with medical problems. And we all want the best treatment and care for our parents and grandparents.
2. Cost--very few can afford to provide appropriate care to the elderly. Profit margins of drug companies approach 200% and medical insurance companies and medical corporations have profit margins approaching 20% (According to published reports from NY Times, Washington Post and the State of Oregon)
In the past medical science was more art than science and we had little awareness of disease and treatment so that many died before their time due to a lack of knowledge (even in the medical community.) But also, in the past, being farmers and gatherers, we were more capable of providing food and housing than we are in an industrialized society.