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91_SB0001eng SB1 Engrossed LRB9100880SMpr 1 AN ACT to amend the Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons 2 Property Tax Relief and Pharmaceutical Assistance Act by 3 changing Sections 3.15 and 4. 4 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 5 represented in the General Assembly: 6 Section 5. The Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons 7 Property Tax Relief and Pharmaceutical Assistance Act is 8 amended by changing Section 3.15 and 4 as follows: 9 (320 ILCS 25/3.15) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 403.15) 10 Sec. 3.15. "Covered prescription drug" means (1) any 11 cardiovascular agent or drug; (2) any insulin or other 12 prescription drug used in the treatment of diabetes, 13 including syringe and needles used to administer the insulin; 14 and (3) any prescription drug used in the treatment of 15 arthritis. The Department shall annually publish a formulary 16 listing the most commonly prescribed products that are 17 covered by the programThe specific agents or products to be18included under such categories shall be listed in a handbook19to be prepared and distributed by the Department. The 20 general types of covered prescription drugs shall be 21 indicated by rule. 22 (Source: P.A. 85-1176.) 23 (320 ILCS 25/4) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 404) 24 Sec. 4. Amount of Grant. 25 (a) In general. Any individual 65 years or older or any 26 individual who will become 65 years old during the calendar 27 year in which a claim is filed, and any surviving spouse of 28 such a claimant, who at the time of death received or was 29 entitled to receive a grant pursuant to this Section, which 30 surviving spouse will become 65 years of age within the 24 SB1 Engrossed -2- LRB9100880SMpr 1 months immediately following the death of such claimant and 2 which surviving spouse but for his or her age is otherwise 3 qualified to receive a grant pursuant to this Section, and 4 any disabled person whose annual household income is less 5 than $14,000 for grant years before the 1998 grant year and 6 less than $16,000 for the 1998 grant year and thereafter and 7 whose household is liable for payment of property taxes 8 accrued or has paid rent constituting property taxes accrued 9 and is domiciled in this State at the time he files his claim 10 is entitled to claim a grant under this Act. With respect to 11 claims filed by individuals who will become 65 years old 12 during the calendar year in which a claim is filed, the 13 amount of any grant to which that household is entitled shall 14 be an amount equal to 1/12 of the amount to which the 15 claimant would otherwise be entitled as provided in this 16 Section, multiplied by the number of months in which the 17 claimant was 65 in the calendar year in which the claim is 18 filed. 19 (b) Limitation. Except as otherwise provided in 20 subsections (a) and (f) of this Section, the maximum amount 21 of grant which a claimant is entitled to claim is the amount 22 by which the property taxes accrued which were paid or 23 payable during the last preceding tax year or rent 24 constituting property taxes accrued upon the claimant's 25 residence for the last preceding taxable year exceeds 3 1/2% 26 of the claimant's household income for that year but in no 27 event is the grant to exceed (i) $700 less 4.5% of household 28 income for that year for those with a household income of 29 $14,000 or less or (ii) $70 if household income for that year 30 is more than $14,000 but less than $16,000. 31 (c) Public aid recipients. If household income in one 32 or more months during a year includes cash assistance in 33 excess of $55 per month from the Department of Public Aid or 34 the Department of Human Services (acting as successor to the SB1 Engrossed -3- LRB9100880SMpr 1 Department of Public Aid under the Department of Human 2 Services Act) which was determined under regulations of that 3 Department on a measure of need that included an allowance 4 for actual rent or property taxes paid by the recipient of 5 that assistance, the amount of grant to which that household 6 is entitled, except as otherwise provided in subsection (a), 7 shall be the product of (1) the maximum amount computed as 8 specified in subsection (b) of this Section and (2) the ratio 9 of the number of months in which household income did not 10 include such cash assistance over $55 to the number twelve. 11 If household income did not include such cash assistance over 12 $55 for any months during the year, the amount of the grant 13 to which the household is entitled shall be the maximum 14 amount computed as specified in subsection (b) of this 15 Section. For purposes of this paragraph (c), "cash 16 assistance" does not include any amount received under the 17 federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program. 18 (d) Joint ownership. If title to the residence is held 19 jointly by the claimant with a person who is not a member of 20 his household, the amount of property taxes accrued used in 21 computing the amount of grant to which he is entitled shall 22 be the same percentage of property taxes accrued as is the 23 percentage of ownership held by the claimant in the 24 residence. 25 (e) More than one residence. If a claimant has occupied 26 more than one residence in the taxable year, he may claim 27 only one residence for any part of a month. In the case of 28 property taxes accrued, he shall pro rate 1/12 of the total 29 property taxes accrued on his residence to each month that he 30 owned and occupied that residence; and, in the case of rent 31 constituting property taxes accrued, shall pro rate each 32 month's rent payments to the residence actually occupied 33 during that month. 34 (f) There is hereby established a program of SB1 Engrossed -4- LRB9100880SMpr 1 pharmaceutical assistance to the aged and disabled which 2 shall be administered by the Department in accordance with 3 this Act, to consist of payments to authorized pharmacies, on 4 behalf of beneficiaries of the program, for the reasonable 5 costs of covered prescription drugs. Each beneficiary who 6 pays $40 for an identification card shall pay the first $15 7 of prescription costs each month. Each beneficiary who pays 8 $80 for an identification card shall pay the first $25 of 9 prescription costs each month. In addition, after a 10 beneficiary receives $800 in benefits during a State fiscal 11 year, that beneficiary shall also be charged 20% of the cost 12 of each prescription for which payments are made by the 13 program during the remainder of the fiscal year. To become a 14 beneficiary under this program a person mustbe: (1) (i) be 15 65 years or older on January 1 of the calendar year in which 16 a claim is filed or become 65 years old during the calendar 17 year in which a claim is filed, or (ii) be the surviving 18 spouse of such a claimant, who at the time of death received 19 or was entitled to receive benefits pursuant to this 20 subsection, which surviving spouse will become 65 years of 21 age within the 24 months immediately following the death of 22 such claimant and which surviving spouse but for his or her 23 age is otherwise qualified to receive benefits pursuant to 24 this subsection, or (iii) be disabled, and (2) beis25 domiciled in this State at the time he files his or her 26 claim, and (3) havehasa maximum household income of less 27 than $14,000 for grant years before the 1998 grant year and 28 less than $16,000 for the 1998 grant year and thereafter. In 29 addition, each eligible person must (1) obtain an 30 identification card from the Department, (2) at the time the 31 card is obtained, sign a statement assigning to the State of 32 Illinois benefits which may be otherwise claimed under any 33 private insurance plans, (3) present the identification card 34 to the dispensing pharmacist. SB1 Engrossed -5- LRB9100880SMpr 1 Any person otherwise eligible for pharmaceutical 2 assistance under this Act whose covered drugs are covered by 3 any public program for assistance in purchasing any covered 4 prescription drugs shall be ineligible for assistance under 5 this Act to the extent such costs are covered by such other 6 plan. 7 The fee to be charged by the Department for the 8 identification card shall be equal to $40 for persons below 9 the official poverty line as defined by the United States 10 Department of Health and Human Services and $80 for all other 11 persons. 12 In the event that 2 or more persons are eligible for any 13 benefit under this Act, and are members of the same 14 household, (1) each such person shall be entitled to 15 participate in the pharmaceutical assistance program, 16 provided that he or she meets all other requirements imposed 17 by this subsection and (2) each participating household 18 member contributes the fee required for that person by the 19 preceding paragraph for the purpose of obtaining an 20 identification card.Persons eligible for any benefit under21this Act due to become 65 in calendar year 1984 or any22subsequent calendar year in which a claim is filed are23excluded from the benefit prescribed in this subsection (g)24for the calendar year in which they become 65.25 (Source: P.A. 89-507, eff. 7-1-97; 90-650, eff. 7-27-98; 26 revised 11-18-98.)