Issues
Arie Friedman is running for State Senator to change the direction of our state government. Many major issues are facing our state, and Arie is uniquely qualified and firmly committed to help lead our state in these times.
Pension Crisis
The greatest threat to our state’s fiscal solvency is our worsening pension gap. One of the tragic aspects of this situation is the fact that public pension system participants are some of the pillars of our society including police, firefighters, and teachers. We have a responsibility to these hard working public employees as well as the rest of our fellow citizens to resolve this situation in a manner that respects everyone’s best possible interests. If we do not address the current pension system shortfalls, by 2045 almost 50% of all personal, corporate, and sales taxes will go exclusively towards keeping up with the pension obligations of the state. This will result in a completely unacceptable crowding out of essential services such as education, health care, and disability services (in which Illinois already ranks 51st in the country lagging behind even Puerto Rico). As such, Arie is a supporter of SB512, the Senate Republican Plan to bring pension costs back into line while still respecting the needs of those who have chosen a career in public service.
Jobs and the Economy
As a practicing physician who started his own practice from scratch with his partners, Arie Friedman knows the challenges employers encounter when they start new businesses and hire employees.
Illinois has lost 92,785 jobs in the first nine months of 2011 – ever since the General Assembly and Governor increased our state’s personal and corporate income taxes by 67 percent and 46 percent, respectively, in January of this year. Illinois leads the nation in total number of jobs lost in 2011 – no other state is losing jobs faster than Illinois.
Arie will vote to repeal the state income tax hikes and will offer his expertise in reforming the state’s workers’ compensation and civil litigation systems, as well as restraining the costs of the Medicaid system. Because Medicaid is such a large expenditure for the state, Arie’s familiarity with medical procedures and practices will give the legislature a more informed perspective on which costs can – or cannot – be reduced when it comes to providing health care to those in need.
Health Care
As a physician, Arie offers much needed experience and knowledge to address the challenges in our state’s fastest growing expenditure: health care. Arie knows the Medicaid system needs to be revamped for more accountable, effective delivery of service to our state’s indigent population at lower costs to taxpayers. As the largest contributor to the state’s budget deficit, Medicaid – as the state currently manages it – represents an unsustainable drain on taxpayers. Arie supports reforming Medicaid to limit the rate of growth in the program’s expenditures.
The impending implementation of the federal government’s health care mandates will deepen this crisis. As chairman of Illinois Docs 4 Patient Care, Arie has read the so-called “Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act” from cover to cover. He believes the Obama Health Care Plan should be repealed; it puts the government between doctors and patients in the delivery of health care – to the detriment of quality in health care for every American. That’s why Arie supports the State of Illinois joining other states in legal action against the Obama Health Care Plan or, barring that entry due to the timing of the lawsuits, at least taking every step possible to block its implementation in our state. Arie Friedman will fight to protect the state’s patients and medical providers from the burdensome mandates which are slated to overtake our state’s budget in 2014 and beyond.
However, Medicaid and the potential implementation of the Obama Health Care Plan are just two of many health-related issues routinely discussed in Springfield these days. On those related matters, Arie supports medical malpractice tort reform, improvements in higher education programs for medical professionals, and the expansion of health care insurance options for consumers by allowing more insurance products to compete for business in Illinois.
For all of these reasons, having a medical professional representing us in the State Senate will raise the quality of debate and legislative analysis in Springfield. At a time when healthcare issues present enormous challenges, it is unfortunate that there is not a single physician currently serving in the General Assembly. As a result, our legislators are too dependent on lobbyists and special interest groups when making decisions on health care. Dr. Friedman will help change that dependence in favor of taxpayers and patients as the state considers much needed reforms and as it reverses poorly conceived actions taken by supporters of ObamaCare.
