Originally posted as a One View Essay in the Wednesday Journal.

Now that the President and Congress appear headed toward a budget deal that may well involve changes to Medicare and Medicaid, perhaps it is wise to take stock of the lives of our senior citizens. More than we know and far too many are in trouble.

July is Elder Abuse Awareness Month. Why is that significant? Studies show that in up to 90% of elder abuse cases, the abuser is a family member or trusted advisor. According to AARP, the financial exploitation of the elderly costs as much as $2.6 billion per year. As part of its findings at the beginning of its recently enacted Elder Justice Act, Congress stated that the “proportion of the United States population age 60 years or older will drastically increase in the next 30 years as more than 76,000,000 baby boomers approach retirement and old age.” It further noted, “each year between 500,000 and 5 million elders in the United States are abused, neglected or exploited.” And perhaps most importantly, “most cases…are never reported.”

What is elder abuse? It comes in many forms. The Illinois Department of Aging, for example, identifies seven types that, in reality, are not mutually exclusive: physical, sexual, emotional, confinement, passive neglect, willful deprivation and financial exploitation. Examples: a Chicago attorney got a call from a bank that his client wanted to withdraw $800,000.00 to give to his caretaker. The caretaker had already induced him to sign over valuable Canadian property. Fortunately, the caretaker is now in a Canadian jail. Then there was the Georgia case in which the decedent’s daughter and her boyfriend “cared” for her mother to gain access to her Social Security checks. In the process, the mother died of extreme neglect. Ultimately, the Georgia Supreme Court upheld a conviction “for felony murder and cruelty to an elderly person.” Similar cases nationwide abound.

At the state level, the majority of states now mandate reporting by professionals and providers who care for seniors. As an example, the Illinois statute is the Elder Abuse and Neglect Act. Under its terms, any person who suspects abuse of someone over 60 can make a report to identified local agencies or the Department of Aging. Certain mandated reporters, such as people engaged in social services, law enforcement and various licensed professions, have to report a belief of elder abuse within 24 hours. And any such reporter is immune from criminal or civil liability or professional disciplinary action for having made the report.

Despite all of these critical legal developments, the General Accounting Office has reported that the single most effective way to identify elder abuse victims is by public awareness. So, for what should we be looking? Among other things, unexplained signs of injury, unusual weight loss, malnutrition or dehydration, significant withdrawals from an elder’s accounts or sudden changes in the senior’s financial condition and evidence of overmedication or undermedication. In other words, any unusual changes in a senior’s life.

The safety nets for the elderly may not be as strong as in the past. Each of us can help improve the quality of life for vulnerable seniors by being as mindful as possible of their circumstances. And that seems well worth doing. As George Harrison wrote years ago, “Even if you’re old and gray…….you’ve still got something to say.”