Survey: Fewer U.S. seniors dying in hospitals

Meanwhile, The Seattle Times reports on an effort in Washington state to "clamp down" on unregulated elder-care referral businesses that promise to help families make arrangements for long-term care for aging relatives.

The Miami Herald: More Senior Citizens Are Dying At Home
After years of experts and patients saying people at the end of life might be more comfortable dying at home, a new study says that may finally be happening: fewer seniors in the United States and South Florida are dying in hospitals. But the same survey finds that in the last months of life for seniors throughout the United States and especially in Miami, the trend is for more of them to see large numbers of specialists and to spend more time in expensive intensive care units (Dorschner, 4/20).

The Seattle Times: State Gets Tough On Referrals For Elder Care
Washington will become the first state to clamp down on the unregulated, explosive growth of elder-care referral businesses that rake in profits, sometimes deceptively, by promising to help families find long-term care for the aged. Dozens of Washington companies offer to guide families through a maze of elder-care options to an adult family home or assisted-living facility that best fits their needs — all for free. But there can be a hidden cost. Most adult homes and elder-care facilities pay hefty commissions to placement services in order to fill empty beds. Many families, without knowing it, have been steered to places that pay the highest bounties — an average $3,500 per person in King County (Berens, 4/20).