Kohl Proposes Extra Elder Abuse Provisions

On December 8, Senator Kohl filed an amendment to the Senate health care reform bill (H.R. 3590) which would add the Elder Abuse Victims Act and the National Silver Alert Act to the bill.

The Elder Abuse Victims Act protects seniors from elder abuse by establishing specialized elder abuse prosecution and research programs and activities to aid victims of elder abuse and to provide training to prosecutors and other law enforcement related to elder abuse prevention and protection.

The National Silver Alert Act authorizes grants for programs to find missing seniors, which is modeled after amber alerts for missing children.  The Elder Justice Coalition, including NAELA, is involved in behind-the-scenes negotiations to encourage the addition of this amendment to the final bill and to encourage support for the amendment if it is brought up for a floor vote.  These provisions would enhance Elder Justice Act provisions, which are already in the bill.