State Senate District 042 Senate District 42

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2012 AARP Voters Guide | State Senate District 042

Pharmaceutical Assistance
Do you support the restoration of the Illinois Cares Rx program or the creation of a new program that will assist seniors and people with disabilities to afford prescription drugs?
AARPs Position:
AARP Illinois Position: With the elimination of the Illinois Cares Rx program in the 2012 budget, tens of thousands of seniors and people with disabilities are struggling to afford prescription drugs. This will impact their health and force them to receive care in more costly emergency rooms and nursing homes. AARP believes restoring this critical program is the right thing to do for seniors and will save money to taxpayers.

Linda Holmes (Dem):

Yes

Peter Hurtado (Rep):

Yes. The cuts that were enacted to this program were simply "penny saved and pound foolish". Enacting these cuts will only serve to force these patients into more expensive medical care when they become ill from a lack of medicine and their situations become worse due to neglect. I strongly favor eleiminating wasteful state spending, but cuts in this area are bad public policy and must be restored.

Home and Community Based Care

How will you help expand access to home and community based services (HCBS) in your state? Will you take advantage of new opportunities and federal incentives to implement HCBS?
AARPs Position:
AARP Illinois Position: AARP believes that individuals should be able to stay in their own homes to receive long term services and supports. AARP advocates funding home and community based services (HCBS) by redirecting expenditures away from costly institutional care and towards community-based services and programs. AARP supports states utilizing new opportunities and federal financial incentives to improve access to HCBS and broadening the options available for HCBS to include consumer directed care, home health and personal care. AARP also supports services and supports for caregivers, such as employment protections.

Linda Holmes (Dem):

Always an advocate of community based care, I recently helped a woman access services for her brother who has developmental disabilities. When their mother died, the woman quit her job to care for her brother, risking her own income and her childrens plans to attend college. He now lives in a group home where he works at AID and enjoys a social life. Institutions that provide 24/7 monitoring are required, but often community based care fits better and it is less costly for the state. I support fair, accessible options for all and pursuing all federal financial options/incentives to provide community based services. 2

Peter Hurtado (Rep):

I favor an immediate and thorough audit of ALL state spending, not just to eliminate waste and duplicative programs, but to discover which programs fail to provide the services for which they were intended. Only when this process, that has never been tried, is completed will we truly have a handle on our budget and be able to reallocate funding to fund those efforts that have a proven record of success such as home and community-based services. Home-based care has been proven to be a cost-effective alternative to institutionalized care - and should be pursued regardless of federal incentives.

2012 AARP Voters Guide | State Senate District 042

Fair and Reasonable Utility Rates

How will you ensure fair and reasonable electric rates for Illinois consumers? Will you support repealing PA97-0616, a law requiring electric utility customers to pay higher rates to fund utility infrastructure, including installation of smart meters, while guaranteeing utility profits?
AARPs Position:
AARP Illinois Position: Last year the General Assembly passed legislation which changed Illinoiss regulatory process allowing electric utility companies ComEd and Ameren to increase their electric rates for the next decade to fund infrastructure while guaranteeing higher utility profits. The law shifts financing risk from utility shareholders to ratepayers while providing no guaranteed benefits. AARP supports repealing PA97-0616 and developing a new comprehensive energy plan that benefits Illinois consumers and businesses.

Linda Holmes (Dem):

Consumer protection and complete transparency are needed on issues relating to utilities. This act was passed because we had an outdated electrical grid at risk of major outages. We had to reach agreement with utility companies so they could fund the needed overhaul. I did not support this bill as introduced because of hardship it created for Illinoisans. I supported an amended version that incorporated greater consumer protections. In the next session we can explore ways to provide relief to seniors who need it. I support developing a program that provides help based on income level to those who need financial help

Peter Hurtado (Rep):

Our General Assembly made a great mistake when it abrogated its duty to protect Illinois consumers from runaway utility rates, as provided for under Illinois law. Utilities, at the very least, should be providing for the maintenance of their infrastructure through their existing revenues, and yet this seems not to have been the case in this instance. While I support free enterprise, I do not believe that this measure - that actually seems to guarantee profits along with maintaining preferential treatment of an industry - serves the public interest and should be renegotiated and closely monitored.

Accessing Affordable Health Care Coverage

How will you protect consumer interests in the establishment of a health insurance exchange? Do you support efforts to require rate reviews on all health insurance premium rate increases? Do you support the creation of a health insurance exchange in Illinois which would benefit Illinoisans by providing access to affordable health care?
AARPs Position:
AARP Illinois Position: AARP supports the creation of a health insurance exchange which is governed and operated in a way that meets the needs of consumers, including strong conflict-ofinterest provisions and protections against discrimination and fraud. AARP supports state insurance reforms that will strengthen premium rate review and enhance transparency for consumers.

Linda Holmes (Dem):

I support the creation of a health exchange. It must have transparent, ethical oversight. They key is to protect the consumers in the health exchange, while still ensuring quality care.

Peter Hurtado (Rep):

Health insurance esxchanges, and the creation of new means to allow Illinoisans to band together and buy insurance through groups, instead of individually, are in the public interest and should be encouraged. Our problem is not that government has no role in our health care system. Our problem is that government involvement, in the form of unnecessary mandates and attempts to "rig" outcomes are most often excessively expensive and fail to meet their intended purpose. Improving access for the private purchase of health care by informed individuals is surely a positive alternative.

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