States Take Aim to Protect the Elderly

STATES TAKE AIM TO PROTECT THE ELDERLY

Volume 28, Issue 497 August 6, 2007

Matthew Gever

For decades, lawmakers have sought to protect children against abuse and neglect. Now, a growing number are focusing on Americans at the other end of the age spectrum.

The aging of the baby boomers places a growing number at risk of physical and/or financial abuse. Both can damage a senior’s health. “For our elderly, the loss of money may have a direct impact on their ability to buy food and much-needed medication,” said Hawaii House Speaker Calvin Say. “They are also not immune to the psychological effects, which could cause stress and a resulting deterioration in conditions of health.”

“An older person [may be] threatened or beaten until they turn over their money or assets,” added Kathleen Quinn, executive director of the National Adult Protective Services Association. “Or they are neglected because their caregivers, who expect to inherit the senior's funds, don't want to spend the money necessary to adequately care for the elder.”

And the elderly are not the only ones who pay a price. “Once an older person's life savings are gone, their home is gone and they're left penniless, they often do go to a nursing home where it is the taxpayer who pays for their care through the rest of their lives,” Quinn said.

Tracking the number of abuse cases is difficult because states have widely varying laws and definitions, and because cases are believed to be grossly underreported. But a survey from the National Center on Elder Abuse found that in 2004, more than 565,000 cases of elderly abuse were reported—a 19 percent rise from 2000. Financial exploitation was the third most common category of abuse, behind self-neglect and caregiver neglect. A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that victims of financial abuse have a mortality rate three times that of non-victims.

States are Taking Action

During its 2007 session, the Aloha State Legislature passed three bills that increase financial protections for seniors. SB 1400 requires financial institutions to report any suspected cases of elder financial abuse to the state Department of Human Services, which will act on the charges or report them to law enforcement. “Officers and employees of a financial institution or licensed escrow depository are in a unique position…to observe [suspicious] behavior,” said Senate President Colleen Hanabusa.

The other two bills increase penalties against those who knowingly defraud seniors. HB 1336 imposes fines of up to $10,000 per violation when a mortgage broker convinces an elderly person to sign a mortgage that leads to the senior’s losing the equity in the house or the home itself. HB 1306 allows for fines of up to $50,000 against those committing a securities violation against anyone age 62 or older.

In Maine, Governor John Baldacci recently signed a bill that authorizes bank personnel to report any suspicious financial activities involving elderly customers to the appropriate authorities. Representative John Brautigam said he introduced LD 1428 “after hearing one too many reports of financial abuse of senior citizens.” Bank employees who disclose financial information in good faith are granted immunity from civil or criminal prosecution.

In California, SB 611 was signed into law in July. The legislation allows judges to freeze assets that are in question in a case of alleged elder abuse; this helps ensure that defendants cannot spend or hide assets before the case is decided. “Any senior who goes to court and prevails should get back that which is rightfully theirs,” said bill sponsor Senator Darrell Steinberg.

In addition, the Golden State has passed legislation (SB 1018) that requires banks to report suspected cases of elder financial abuse and a bill (AB 1192) that directs the state to create a registry to track abusive caregivers and prevent their re-employment.

Elsewhere, Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti Jr. recently formed a state Elder Financial Abuse Task Force, which will increase awareness about financial exploitation of the elderly, create a unified reporting system within the state’s financial institutions and recommend stronger financial exploitation legislation.

The Massachusetts Securities Commission has adopted rules that requires financial specialists to prove that they have been certified by a state-approved accreditation organization if they call themselves specialists in giving advice to investors 65 years of age and older.

On July 2, the Illinois Department of Aging launched the state’s third annual “Break the Silence” campaign to increase awareness of elder abuse. Since the first campaign, the number of reports of elder abuse has increased by more than 1,000.

The federal government is also looking to help with The Elder Justice Act of 2007 (S 1070). If passed, the bill would provide funds to state and local officials to help them prosecute cases of elder abuse. It would also create a council within the Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate state, local and private efforts to combat elder abuse. “We have armies of federal employees fighting child and domestic abuse, yet we don’t have one federal employee working full time combating elder abuse,” said Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, one the sponsors of the legislation.