Experiment in Assisted Living Exposes Regulatory Confusion. The article describes the way assisted living in New York has been transformed [and I’ve seen the same thing here in Massachusetts]. Starting out as a means of allowing a continuum of escalating care so that elders can “age in place” in a setting of their own choosing, assisted living centers have instead become ways to house enfeebled Alzheimer’s patients with less regulatory oversight, and hence less adequate care, than in nursing homes. In essence, the industry has backed its way into being part of the healthcare industry rather than a housing alternative, in the process securing itself a niche in which it’s protected from regulation that would eat into its profits.