December 29, 2017
To the Honorable
Members of
The Illinois House of
Representatives,
100th General
Assembly:
Today
I veto House Bill 1424 from the 100th General Assembly, which would reduce the
ability of the State to assess and serve Illinois’ elderly and persons with disabilities.
This bill is similar to several pieces of legislation that have been discussed
and debated over the last few years. This debate comes at a critical time, as
Illinois’ aging population, ages 60 and over, is expected to increase by 57%
from 2000 - 2030.
This
bill prohibits the Department on Aging from implementing a new program, the
Community Reinvestment Program (CRP), which aims to provide the non-Medicaid
population of the Community Care Program (CCP) with federally mandated
person-centered planning and community-based options. By limiting current
services in statute, this bill prevents individual care coordinators from working
with their clients on a case-by-case basis to meet the needs necessary for them
to remain in their homes. Instead, they will receive only the services which
have been available since the program’s inception, well over 30 years ago.
While our current service delivery model is crucial to maintaining seniors in
their homes and communities, this bill prohibits the department from
implementing a more flexible array of service options.
The
Department on Aging’s Community Care Program Services Task Force is currently
working with advocates, providers, and legislators on a bipartisan plan to
develop proactive solutions to serve this rapidly growing vulnerable
population. They are tasked with reviewing current CCP services, and
recommending solutions to reduce costs while simultaneously retaining our high
quality of care. If HB 1424 were to become law, the work of this task force could
be negatively impacted.
The
bill also sets subjective restrictions on the implementation of the new
Universal Assessment Tool (UAT) that is set to replace the outdated
Determination of Need (DON) eligibility tool. Created to be objective and truly
evaluate the needs of an elderly resident, this bill restricts the Department’s
ability to implement the Universal Assessment Tool by guaranteeing eligibility
for community-based services for current CCP participants regardless of whether
they qualify for services under the UAT. This will limit our ability to
receive federal matching funds and potentially put our federal waiver at risk.
Therefore,
pursuant to Section 9(b) of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I
hereby return House Bill 1424, entitled AN ACT concerning public aid”, with the
foregoing objections, vetoed in its entirety.
Sincerely,
Bruce
Rauner