Elder Abuse: Seniors Encouraged to Lodge Complain (Nevada, USA)

By Bob Challinor
Desert Valley Times
July 29, 2008

Nevada may not have the money to take on methamphetamines, but it does have the will, said Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto.

The state, through the attorney general’s office, is attacking the widespread methamphetamine crisis through an educational/prevention component now, in addition to other strategies, Cortez Masto told Citizens Coffee and senior center audiences.

Cortez Masto told seniors not to hesitate to call her office if they believe they have been victims of exploitation.

“It’s very important to me to protect seniors,” she said. “For some reason, seniors are preyed upon all the time with schemes and scams for money. That used to happen to my grandparents all the time.”

The state has a federally-funded Senior Medicare Patrol and senior protection unit, said Joanne Embrey, who heads senior issues for the attorney general’s office.

“Seventy seven million of us will be on Medicare in 10 years, and 144 million will use Medicare by the next 10 years,” she said. “It won’t last unless we save it. We’re the only state that has a law enforcement office; we advocate on your behalf.”

The U.S. Administration on Aging provides personal health care journals to seniors so they can keep their own medical treatment history and compare it with the Medicare summaries they receive every three months.

“You can compare your medical history to what Medicare said it paid for. Medicare loses $30 billion because of errors each year. That’s the reason the journals are out there.”

Cortez Masto said her office didn’t have the ability to prosecute elder abuse until a law was recently passed giving her to power to prosecute those cases.

“The district attorney has the primary jurisdiction,” she said. “I’m the secondary. We’re working with (Clark County DA) David Rogers on prosecution.”

The City of Las Vegas has the Senior Citizens Law Project, a pro bono service available to people age 60 and older, and the Clark County Law Project – which has seven attorneys on board – takes on more intensive issues.

The attorney general’s office vigorously prosecutes consumer fraud and works with the Missing and Exploited Children Clearinghouse on child advocacy issues.

“We’re complaint driven,” Cortez Masto said. “We can’t do anything unless you call.”

Abridged
SOURCE: Desert Valley Times
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