Elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation: policy issues.

Elder abuse remains a rapidly growing but largely invisible national policy issue. As the number of elderly persons increases, so will elder abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation. This has implications not only for the victims and the programs struggling to protect them but also for publicly funded programs such as Medicare and Medicaid. The urgent problem is to address elder abuse on a national level in a comprehensive and informed way to prevent the untold suffering of hundreds of thousands of older persons who deserve to live their final years with dignity and security.