Seniors
Affordable Health Care, Safe and Secure Lives
Leland Yee believes we have a strong responsibility to take care of the generations that cared for us. He has advocated for laws to fight skyrocketing prescription drug costs, protect seniors from financial and physical abuse by caretakers, and establish new adult day health care centers around the state.
Fighting for Affordable Health Care
While top pharmaceutical executives pay themselves an average of $6 million per year, many Californians are going bankrupt paying for the cost of prescription drugs. Senator Leland Yee has worked and will continue to work to make prescription drugs and health care more affordable.
* Prescription Drug Bill of Rights.
Helped pass the Prescription Drug Bill of Rights, including legislation establishing a discount program for low-income Californians.
* Canadian Discounts.
Fought to allow the Department of General Services to contract with Canadian pharmacies for the purchase of prescription drugs to serve state agencies. An effort that was vetoed by the Governor.
* State Fund for Lower Cost Prescriptions.
Voted to create a state fund to support access to lower cost drugs for low income individuals. An effort that was vetoed by the Governor.
* Prescription Drug Hotline
Working to create a prescription drug hotline to give consumers access to more affordable prescription drugs.
Patients Rights for the Elderly
Predatory insurance practices and residential care home fraud are growing problems affecting hundreds of thousands of California seniors and families. Too often seniors are taken advantage of by unscrupulous operators who prey on their vulnerabilities. Leland Yee has joined with Democrats in Sacramento for a wide range of legislation to protect elders.
* Elderly Patient Bill of Rights.
Helped pass an elderly patient bill of rights that ensures that a complete list of rights are provided to elderly patients or their representatives in writing before a patient moves into a residential care home.
* Safe Prescriptions.
Voted for legislation sponsored by State Senator Jackie Speier that requires that labels on prescription drug containers include a physical description of the drug to reduce medication errors which can cause injury or death.
* Elder Fraud.
Helped protect seniors from insurance fraud, especially through deceptive advertising by insurance companies.
* Adult Day Care Discrimination.
Voted for new law prohibiting adult day care centers from discriminating on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation or physical or mental disabilities.
Combating Elder Abuse
One of the most hidden and difficult crimes to discover and prosecute is elder abuse. In the fight against elder abuse, Senator Yee understands that senior advocates need to be armed with the legal tools to be effective and that law enforcement needs the funding to deter, investigate and prosecute crimes against elders.
* Crimes Against the Elderly.
Supported legislation expanding the definition of crimes against an elderly person to include forgery, identity theft and fraud by caretakers.
* Elder Abuse Prevention Council.
Backed the creation of an Elder Abuse Prevention Council at the state level to monitor problems statewide.
* Real Estate Fraud.
Supported funding for programs to deter, investigate and civilly prosecute real estate fraud against elders or dependent adults.
* Sex Offenders in Long-term Care Facilities.
Voted to mandate that the state notify the administrators of a long-term care facility before releasing a registered sex offender to reside there.
* Elder Abuse Awareness.
Fought for laws to increase awareness of elder abuse by discouraging confidential settlements in abuse cases.
