The opioid crisis in the United States is having a direct impact on the increase in financial exploitation of the elderly. An article published by the University of Southern California Center on Elder Mistreatment explains the correlation between the growth of the senior population and the opioid crisis in the U.S. The Indianapolis elder law attorneys at Frank & Kraft explain how the opioid crisis leads to elderly financial exploitation.
The Opioid Crisis in the U.S.
The news makes it clear that the opioid crisis in America impacts everyone; however, few people actually consider how the crisis impacts the older population. As it turns out, seniors are often victims of the war on drugs. One reason is that, as a group, older adults often have multiple chronic conditions and endure high rates of chronic pain. Consequently, opioids and other strong prescription pain medications are frequently the treatment of choice for these individuals. Seniors are every bit as much at risk for becoming dependent or addicted to their pain medication and/or suffering negative side effects.
How Does the Opioid Crisis Lead to Financial Exploitation?
The opioid crisis has also harmed older adults through the addiction of their children, grandchildren, and others who rely on them for money, child care, food, shelter, and the like. Directly or inadvertently, older adults may be stripped of their resources and quality of life because of the struggles of those around them—and may be highly susceptible to elder abuse.
In late 2017, researchers from Virginia Tech (Pamela B. Teaster and Karen A. Roberto) and the Elder Justice Coalition (Brian W. Lindberg and Robert Blancato) conducted 4 one-hour focus group interviews with 20 selected representatives from involved stakeholders in four states and counties where deaths from opioids were the highest (Kentucky, Ohio, Virginia, West Virginia). The goal of the project was to investigate whether the relationship between increasing high rates of opioid use and elder abuse was a real problem “on the ground,” its scope, and available data. The conclusion of the focus group was that the problem is escalating in scope and severity. Moreover, the focus group concluded that elder financial exploitation was the predominant form of abuse, a conclusion that mirrors studies nationwide.
One example offered was that of a grandson who had a heroin addiction and went to live with his elderly grandfather. The grandfather had a diagnosis of dementia, and the grandson exploited the grandfather for $85,000 to support his heroin addiction. The grandson was taking money out of the grandfather’s debit card, writing checks to his friends, and opening credit cards in his grandfather’s name–all in an effort to support his addiction. Sadly, this story is far from unusual. Participants also indicated that when desperate perpetrators had gone through the money, the drugs, or both, older adults were psychologically and physically abused. Their abusers isolated the older adults in their own homes so that they could not reach out to others to help them. The problem is not limited to seniors living at home though. On the contrary, older adults are being exploited in hospice and nursing homes as well.
Overall, the focus group participants strongly believed that the opioid crisis is directly contributing to elder abuse. Across the four groups, participants:
- Stated that the problem is increasing in severity;
- Estimated a 25-35% increase in drug-related exploitation cases;
- Stressed that there is a dangerous lack of resources to help with drug-related cases of elder abuse;
- Confirmed that there is no reliable, retrievable data to document the scope of the problem across states.
Contact an Indianapolis Elder Law Attorney
For more information, please join us for an upcoming FREE seminar. If you have additional questions or concerns about elder abuse, contact the experienced Indianapolis elder law attorneys at Frank & Kraft by calling (317) 684-1100 to schedule an appointment.
Mr. Kraft assists clients primarily in the areas of estate planning and administration, Medicaid planning, federal and state taxation, real estate and corporate law, bringing the added perspective of an accounting background to his work.
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