~54% Boomers own their home free and clear [1]. To your point, if end of life care is predictable (and you know the expenses are coming), you deed the house to the kids with enough time ("lookback period") that there is no estate to pursue and let the medical system and the government (some combination of Medicare and state Medicaid) eat the cost.
Agree that a lot of folks will have no options [2] [3], ending up homeless or some other terrible transient situation until death, dying with nothing (in my experience). Play to win, no one is coming to save you and the system is rigged against you (rando opinion of casual observer of a dysfunctional system, your opinion may vary).