The charge that social programs tend to trap the poor in dependency and deny them the power to control their lives has led to the redesign of certain federal programs. For example, the government has been allowing tenants of public housing projects to buy the buildings and take over their management. A consensus in favor of more broad-gauged action came together in 1996. A new law overhauled welfare by replacing AFDC with state-run assistance programs financed by federal grants. The law also limits lifetime welfare assistance to five years, requires most able-bodied adults to work after two years on welfare, eliminates welfare benefits for legal immigrants who have not become U.S. citizens, and limits food stamps to a period of three months unless the recipients are working.
Most physicians have a contractual relationship with one or more hospitals in their community.
Some hospitals are run by a city, a state, or, in the case of hospitals for military veterans, the federal government. Others are run by religious orders or other nonprofit groups. Still others are run by companies intending to make a profit. In the last 30 years, the cost of medical care in the United States has skyrocketed. One reason for rising health costs is that physicians are among the highest-paid professionals in the United States.