Fault Lines - Elderly Incorporated - full episode

Elder abuse and neglect is one of America’s fastest growing crimes targeting one of its most vulnerable populations. In long-term care facilities, cases are largely out of view and underreported. As a result, countless elderly victims are suffering alone in silence.

One in 3 patients are in facilities failing to meet basic care requirements, while more than $5 billion went to substandard homes in one year alone, according to the U.S. government. Many nursing homes reported staffing levels insufficient to provide adequate care, including some of the largest for-profit chains in the U.S., says one study. Enforcement agencies say they are limited by new budget cuts.

Fault Lines investigates how problems of government oversight and corporate accountability persist in many states—and how poorly rated facilities continue to operate without penalties, despite repeated offenses. 

Original air date: September 15, 2013