SEATTLE: The average person generates $14,000 in health-care costs during the last 30 days of his or her life, often receiving high-impact hospital treatment that may only make their passing more difficult, a new study concludes.
The landmark research, a rare attempt to put a price tag on the care that immediately precedes death, highlights the need to shift treatment of the dying out of acute-care facilities.
Close to half that expense stems from admission to acute-care hospitals, despite widespread agreement that many patients should get palliative or home care in their final days…