Klobuchar, Collins Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Crack Down on Fraud Targeted at Seniors

This is all well and good. However, this type of fraud is not just directed at Seniors. It is directed at those who have little experience dealing with these types of offers. We all get the same telemarketing phone calls.

Washington, D.C. - February 17, 2019 - (The Ponder News) -- U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Susan Collins (R-ME) announced that they have reintroduced their bipartisan legislation to crack down on fraud targeted at seniors. Schemes targeting seniors include fraudulent investment plans, prizes, sweepstakes, internet fraud, charity scams, predatory home lenders, telemarketing and mail fraud, and Ponzi schemes. The Seniors Fraud Prevention Act would help fight scams designed to strip seniors of their assets by helping educate seniors about fraud schemes and improve monitoring and response to fraud complaints.

“We must ensure all Americans have safety and dignity in their senior years,” said Klobuchar. “New fraudulent schemes designed to target seniors appear almost daily, and seniors can watch their entire life savings disappear in scams that are designed to target their assets. This bipartisan legislation will improve efforts to combat fraud targeting seniors so we can make fighting scams against our seniors a priority.”

“As the Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, combatting elder fraud has long been one of my top priorities. Though we have held hearings exposing and examining a number of these scams in order to help protect seniors, much more remains to be done,” said Collins. “The Seniors Fraud Prevention Act would help enhance fraud monitoring, increase consumer education, and strengthen the complaint tracking system to help prevent seniors from being robbed of their hard-earned savings through threatening and manipulative scams.”

The Seniors Fraud Prevention Act would help protect seniors from fraud schemes by strengthening the reporting system to ensure complaints of fraud are handled quickly by the appropriate law enforcement agencies. The bill would also require the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the agency responsible for handling consumer complaints, coordinate with other agencies to monitor the market for fraud schemes targeting seniors. In addition, the bill would require the FTC to distribute information to seniors, their families, and their caregivers that explain how to recognize fraud schemes and how to contact law enforcement authorities in the event that a senior is targeted. Klobuchar and Collins have introduced this bill in the three previous Congresses. In 2016, the legislation passed the Senate Commerce Committee without opposition and in 2017, the legislation passed the Senate.

BENES Act Introduced in the Senate

Source: Senator Robert P.Casey, Jr. - (D - PA)

Washington, D.C. - October 23, 2017 - (The Ponder News) -- In an effort to simplify the complex enrollment process for the growing number of Americans aging into Medicare, U.S Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and Todd Young (R-IN) introduced the bipartisan Beneficiary Enrollment Notification and Eligibility Simplification (BENES) Act. The BENES Act, which is supported by nearly 70 organizations that represent older Americans, people with disabilities, insurers, and health care providers, would simplify and modernize the Medicare enrollment process by making improvements to the notification system and ensuring the elimination of coverage gaps.

“As more and more Americans age into Medicare, we need to do all we can to simplify and improve the enrollment process. This legislation works to inform more Americans of their options and eliminate coverage gaps,” said Senator Casey. “By working in a bipartisan, commonsense fashion, we can ensure that more people are saving money and receiving the coverage they need when they need it.”

“Currently, seniors who miss the sign-up deadline for Medicare Part B face onerous penalties that persist for the rest of their lives,” said Senator Young. “The BENES Act will make the sign-up process more efficient and friendly to our seniors so they have the financial backstop needed to access quality medical care.”

"Far too many people with Medicare are saddled with a lifetime of higher health care costs and go without needed services due to fragmented and archaic Part B enrollment processes," said Joe Baker, president of the Medicare Rights Center. "The BENES Act will prevent the calls that come into our helpline every day from seniors and people with disabilities caught in a complicated web of Medicare enrollment rules."

The BENES Act Would:

Improve the notification process for individuals by creating a framework for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Social Security Administration (SSA), and Internal Revenue Service (IRS), to collaborate to alert individuals approaching eligibility about the Medicare enrollment process and how Medicare works with other insurance.

Eliminate coverage gaps during enrollment periods by guaranteeing that Medicare beneficiaries do not experience a break in coverage. Specifically, the legislation would fix gaps in the fifth, sixth and seventh month of an individual’s Initial Enrollment Period (IEP) and in the General Enrollment Period (GEP). This would modernize the system that has not seen changes since its establishment over fifty years ago.

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Court-Appointed Guardian Accountability and Senior Protection Act Passes Senate, Heads to President's Desk

Washington, D.C. - October 4, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) released the following statement after his bipartisan legislation to protect seniors from neglect and financial exploitation passed Congress. The Court-Appointed Guardian Accountability and Senior Protection Act, which he introduced with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), will help crack down on elder abuse by strengthening oversight and accountability for guardians and conservators.

“Our nation’s senior citizens regretfully are targets for exploitation and fraud, sadly sometimes at the hands of those they trust the most,” said Cornyn. “I’m glad the House passed this bipartisan legislation to strengthen accountability measures for guardians so our senior citizens are protected and this type of abuse can be prevented.”

Sen. Cornyn’s bipartisan legislation passed as part of the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act. The Court-Appointed Guardian Accountability and Senior Protection Act makes courts eligible for an already existing program designed to protect seniors. Under the program, state courts would be able to apply for funding to assess the handling of proceedings relating to guardians and conservators, and then make the necessary improvements to their practices. For example, the courts could conduct background checks on potential guardians and conservators, or implement an electronic filing system to better monitor and audit conservatorships and guardianships.

Senior Safe Act Re-Introduced

Source: House Representative Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ, 9th)

Washington, D.C. - September 14, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- Congresswoman Kyrsten Sinema (AZ-09) and Congressman Bruce Poliquin (ME-02) reintroduced the bipartisan Senior Safe Act, legislation to help identify, report, and stop financial abuse of seniors.

“Americans lose billions of dollars each year to financial fraud, and seniors are a top target,” said Congresswoman Sinema. “These financial crimes devastate their bank accounts and often go unreported. Seniors deserve to retire with dignity, and they shouldn’t have to worry that their hard earned savings are at risk of fraud. This bill is a commonsense solution to help identify, report, and stop financial abuse of Arizona seniors.”

“Maine has the most elderly population in the Nation, a demographic that we have seen is particularly vulnerable to these vicious fraud schemes,” said Congressman Poliquin. “We need to make sure that our seniors are provided the help and protections against these fraud perpetrators, who are estimated to cost our seniors nearly $3 billion annually through illegal financial abuses. It is absolutely unacceptable for Mainers’ hard-earned investments to be so egregiously abused by common criminals, and I am proud to work across the aisle in continuing to ensure they are protected.”

Recent studies estimate nearly 1 in 5 American seniors may be a target of financial fraud or abuse. Even when financial institutions suspect abuse, the abuse may go unpunished. Current laws lack the necessary flexibility to allow financial institutions to report suspected abuse to authorities.

The Senior Safe Act encourages individuals and financial institutions to report suspected instances of fraud and elder financial abuse. It also incentivizes firms to train employees to identify and stop financial fraud. This bill helps law enforcement track down financial criminals who target seniors by enabling banks, credit unions, investment advisors, broker-dealers, and other financial service providers to better communicate with appropriate agencies when they suspect financial exploitation of seniors.

Last Congress, this commonsense legislation passed the House with broad bipartisan support.

Seniors

New York Times cites effort led by Senator Collins to combat financial abuse of older Americans and her bill, the Senior $afe Act of 2017
Senator Susan M. Collins - (R - ME)
April 17, 2017
U.S. Senator Susan Collins’ efforts to protect older Americans against financial fraud were featured today in a New York Times article titled “Declaring War on Financial Abuse of Older People.” Senator Collins, who is Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee, introduced legislation, the Senior $afe Act of 2017 to help protect American seniors from financial exploitation and fraud by providing support to regulators, financial institutions, and legal organizations to educate their employees about how to identify and prevent financial exploitation of older Americans.
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