Just read the actual bill. It was only for seamen coming home from a "foreign voyage"
I have no idea why that was. Perhaps because back then it was so dangerous to make long sea voyages and disease was rampant, etc. It may have been the only way to get sailors to agree to take long cross-Atlantic voyages which of course were desperately needed for commerce and trade for the U.S.
Not much in common with any health insurance scam bill that we now have. This was actually set up to TREAT them. Not pay for insurance for overcharging for medical procedures.
EDIT:
http://history.nih.gov/research/downloads/1StatL605.pdf
2nd Edit: By the way...that wasn't the "Founding Fathers" This was the FIFTH congress in 1798 that did that. The founding fathers were about 20 years earlier. That would be like saying that JFK and Ronald Reagan were both the same time period as president.