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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The financial exploitation of elderly Illinois | ||||||
| 3 | citizens continues to plague our State; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, Studies indicate that one in nine senior citizens | ||||||
| 5 | reported some form of abuse, neglect, or exploitation in the | ||||||
| 6 | past 12 months; one in 20 older adults indicate some form of | ||||||
| 7 | perceived financial mistreatment in the recent past; 90% of | ||||||
| 8 | elderly abusers are family members; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, Elderly financial exploitation is vastly | ||||||
| 10 | underreported with only one in 44 instances reported; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Financially abused seniors are more likely to turn | ||||||
| 12 | to Medicaid as a direct result of their funds being stolen; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, Approximately 6.3 million older adults are in need | ||||||
| 14 | of some long-term care; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, It is estimated that nearly 13 million elderly | ||||||
| 16 | citizens will access some form of long-term care by 2050; and | ||||||
| 17 | WHEREAS, Nearly 20% of senior citizens will incur more than | ||||||
| 18 | $25,000 in out-of-pocket costs related to long-term care; | ||||||
| 19 | therefore, be it
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| 1 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 2 | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 3 | declare our intent to eradicate financial abuse of the elderly | ||||||
| 4 | in Illinois; and be it further
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| 5 | RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois Department of Public | ||||||
| 6 | Health and the Illinois Department of Aging to work together to | ||||||
| 7 | produce educational materials for elderly citizens of Illinois | ||||||
| 8 | explaining their rights, the warning signs of financial | ||||||
| 9 | exploitation, and appropriate reporting methods; and be it | ||||||
| 10 | further | ||||||
| 11 | RESOLVED, That we urge the 13 Illinois Area Agencies on | ||||||
| 12 | Aging Ombudsperson programs to partner with long-term care | ||||||
| 13 | facilities in their respective regions to provide appropriate | ||||||
| 14 | educational information and reporting methods to clients and | ||||||
| 15 | patients on an annual basis; and be it further | ||||||
| 16 | RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois State Bar Association | ||||||
| 17 | Elder Law Section to work to develop appropriate legal | ||||||
| 18 | materials for long-term care facilities and State's Attorneys | ||||||
| 19 | that offer information on identifying and prosecuting | ||||||
| 20 | financial abuse of elderly citizens; and be it further | ||||||
| 21 | RESOLVED, That we urge the Illinois State Medical Society | ||||||
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| 1 | and the Illinois Nurses Association to provide their respective | ||||||
| 2 | members with appropriate educational materials to assist with | ||||||
| 3 | identifying and reporting suspected financial abuse of | ||||||
| 4 | Illinois' older citizens; and be it further | ||||||
| 5 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
| 6 | delivered to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the | ||||||
| 7 | Illinois Department of Aging, the 13 Illinois Area Agencies on | ||||||
| 8 | Aging, the Illinois State Bar Association, the Illinois State | ||||||
| 9 | Medical Society, and the Illinois Nurses Association.
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