The Health Reform bill has received considerable attention
from the media and public, yet within this legislation there is an act that has
gone unnoticed and which may affect the lives of millions. The Elder Justice
Act would enact federal and state measures to prevent and punish the abuse and
exploitation of the elderly by their care providers. If passed, it would be the
most comprehensive and far reaching legislation dedicated to stopping elder
abuse.

Every year approximately 5 million seniors are abused,
neglected, or exploited. Elder abuse is a growing epidemic that crosses all
socio-economic, gender, and ethnic boundaries and yet it goes largely unnoticed
and unpunished. Currently only 2% of federal funding for family violence is
allotted to elder abuse and there is little legislation that addresses this
issue.

The Elder Care Act seeks to integrate the disjointed federal
and state agencies and organization and to ensure the quality of personal care
by; mandating background checks for care providers employees, require states to
establish hiring criteria, and punishing care providers who do not report
crimes. There are currently over a dozen states who do require care providers
to screen potential employees, including California and Florida who have large
elderly populations. Furthermore, states that do conduct background checks may
only check for crimes committed within state lines. Under the Elder Care Act,
all states would have to establish thorough screening guidelines for care
providers and more aggressively investigate and prosecute perpetrators of elder
abuse.

In order to oversee these reforms, an Office of Elder
Justice would be formed within the Department of Health and Human Services and
an Elder Justice Coordinating Council would be established to synergize
national and local efforts. It will cost approximately $757 million a year to
administer these changes. Critics of the bill accuse it of being an example
runaway spending but it is a small percentage of the nearly $1 trillion the
healthcare bill will cost. Furthermore, financial exploitation of the elderly
results in thousands of seniors losing their savings and having to rely on
public assistance to survive. By preventing this from happening, the government
would actually be saving money and improving the quality of life for our aging
population.

However, what it debatable is whether this act will
effectively curb elder abuse. Family members or friends, not hired caregivers
perpetrate a majority of these crimes. Moreover, a majority of elderly people
receive their care from their home and their abuse goes unseen. How these
abuses will be addressed has yet to be seen, by the Elder Care Act represents
an important step in protecting our senior population.