New Legislation Provides Tools for Seniors to Combat Elder Abuse
Like many states throughout the country, New York State has existing elder laws that were developed with elder safety in mind. Despite lawmakers’ best efforts, some of these existing laws do not offer protection against the types of challenges that many elder citizens face today. In the wake of new exploitation techniques and scams that rely on the unwitting senior citizen, their assets are becoming more and more susceptible to criminal activity. According to Senate Bill S8098, on July 21, 2016, Governor Cuomo signed a new addition into law that was dutifully sponsored by Senator Roxanne Persaud, which provides more tools for New York’s seniors as they fight against various forms of elder abuse.
The bill is unique in that it includes new resources to help combat financial scams that affect senior citizens and their assets. According to Persaud, scams are becoming more and more deceitful and sophisticated as they target individuals who may not otherwise know how to protect themselves.
Specifically, the regulations strengthen the residents’ control over specific decisions, call for expanded staff training for preventing elder abuse, and extend protections for “dumping.” In addition, many Americans are welcoming the ban on binding arbitration agreements that nursing homes often require for admission, hoping that public lawsuits will bring attention to the perils of the industry and deter other nursing homes in the future. However, many are still questioning whether these new requirements will help improve the care in nursing homes across the country.
“Our state will now make sure that we give seniors a chance to learn about what traps are out there, and who to go to if they think someone or some business is offering something too good to be true,” Senator Persaud explained.
The bill to amend New York State elder law provides tips on money management, applying for benefits and raising awareness of the myriad of rip-offs used by predators to separate elders from their money. The additions to the pre-existing laws were effective immediately upon Governor Cuomo’s signature and were added to New York Elder Law § 217 (1) (d). This bill is another in a long list of legislation proposals that require 21st century considerations. Despite its uniqueness in nature, it recieved unanimous support from the Senate Rules Committee and an equal amount of support on the Senate floor.
If you wish to review the legislation, you can download a copy here: http://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2015/S8098
