093_HB0165

 
                                     LRB093 02305 SJM 02313 b

 1        AN ACT concerning senior citizens and disabled persons.

 2        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section  5.   The  Senior  Citizens  and Disabled Persons
 5    Property Tax Relief  and  Pharmaceutical  Assistance  Act  is
 6    amended by changing Section 4 as follows:

 7        (320 ILCS 25/4) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 404)
 8        Sec. 4.  Amount of Grant.
 9        (a)  In general.  Any individual 65 years or older or any
10    individual  who  will become 65 years old during the calendar
11    year in which a claim is filed, and any surviving  spouse  of
12    such  a  claimant,  who  at the time of death received or was
13    entitled to receive a grant pursuant to this  Section,  which
14    surviving  spouse  will  become 65 years of age within the 24
15    months immediately following the death of the  such  claimant
16    and  which  surviving  spouse  but  for  his  or  her  age is
17    otherwise qualified to  receive  a  grant  pursuant  to  this
18    Section,  and  any  disabled  person  whose  annual household
19    income is less than $14,000 for grant years before  the  1998
20    grant  year,  less  than  $16,000 for the 1998 and 1999 grant
21    years, and less than (i) $21,218 for a  household  containing
22    one  person,  (ii)  $28,480  for  a  household  containing  2
23    persons,  or  (iii)  $35,740  for a household containing 3 or
24    more persons for the 2000 grant year and thereafter and whose
25    household is liable for payment of property taxes accrued  or
26    has  paid  rent  constituting  property  taxes accrued and is
27    domiciled in this State at the time he or she  files  his  or
28    her  claim  is entitled to claim a grant under this Act. With
29    respect to claims filed by individuals  who  will  become  65
30    years old during the calendar year in which a claim is filed,
31    the  amount  of any grant to which that household is entitled
 
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 1    shall be an amount equal to 1/12 of the amount to  which  the
 2    claimant  would  otherwise  be  entitled  as provided in this
 3    Section, multiplied by the number  of  months  in  which  the
 4    claimant  was  65  in the calendar year in which the claim is
 5    filed.
 6        (b)  Limitation.   Except  as   otherwise   provided   in
 7    subsections  (a)  and (f) of this Section, the maximum amount
 8    of grant which a claimant is entitled to claim is the  amount
 9    by  which  the  property  taxes  accrued  which  were paid or
10    payable  during  the  last  preceding  tax   year   or   rent
11    constituting  property  taxes  accrued  upon  the  claimant's
12    residence  for the last preceding taxable year exceeds 3 1/2%
13    of the claimant's household income for that year  but  in  no
14    event  is the grant to exceed (i) $700 less 4.5% of household
15    income for that year for those with  a  household  income  of
16    $14,000 or less or (ii) $70 if household income for that year
17    is more than $14,000.
18        (c)  Public  aid  recipients.  If household income in one
19    or more months during a  year  includes  cash  assistance  in
20    excess  of $55 per month from the Department of Public Aid or
21    the Department of Human Services (acting as successor to  the
22    Department  of  Public  Aid  under  the  Department  of Human
23    Services Act) which was determined under regulations of  that
24    Department  on  a  measure of need that included an allowance
25    for actual rent or property taxes paid by  the  recipient  of
26    that  assistance, the amount of grant to which that household
27    is entitled, except as otherwise provided in subsection  (a),
28    shall  be  the  product of (1) the maximum amount computed as
29    specified in subsection (b) of this Section and (2) the ratio
30    of the number of months in which  household  income  did  not
31    include  such  cash assistance over $55 to the number twelve.
32    If household income did not include such cash assistance over
33    $55 for any months during the year, the amount of  the  grant
34    to  which  the  household  is  entitled  shall be the maximum
 
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 1    amount computed  as  specified  in  subsection  (b)  of  this
 2    Section.    For   purposes   of  this  paragraph  (c),  "cash
 3    assistance" does not include any amount  received  under  the
 4    federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
 5        (d)  Joint  ownership.  If title to the residence is held
 6    jointly by the claimant with a person who is not a member  of
 7    his  or  her  household, the amount of property taxes accrued
 8    used in computing the amount of grant to which he or  she  is
 9    entitled  shall  be  the  same  percentage  of property taxes
10    accrued as  is  the  percentage  of  ownership  held  by  the
11    claimant in the residence.
12        (e)  More than one residence.  If a claimant has occupied
13    more  than  one  residence in the taxable year, he or she may
14    claim only one residence for any part of  a  month.   In  the
15    case  of property taxes accrued, he or she shall prorate 1/12
16    of the total property taxes accrued on his or  her  residence
17    to  each  month  that  he  or  she  owned  and  occupied that
18    residence; and, in the case  of  rent  constituting  property
19    taxes  accrued,  shall  prorate each month's rent payments to
20    the residence actually occupied during that month.
21        (f)  There   is   hereby   established   a   program   of
22    pharmaceutical assistance to  the  aged  and  disabled  which
23    shall  be  administered  by the Department in accordance with
24    this Act, to consist of payments to authorized pharmacies, on
25    behalf of beneficiaries of the program,  for  the  reasonable
26    costs  of  covered  prescription drugs.  Each beneficiary who
27    pays $5 for an identification card shall  pay  no  additional
28    prescription  costs.   Each  beneficiary  who pays $25 for an
29    identification  card  shall  pay  $3  per  prescription.   In
30    addition, after a beneficiary  receives  $2,000  in  benefits
31    during  a  State  fiscal year, that beneficiary shall also be
32    charged 20% of  the  cost  of  each  prescription  for  which
33    payments  are made by the program during the remainder of the
34    fiscal year.  To become a beneficiary under  this  program  a
 
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 1    person must: (1) be (i) 65 years of age or older, or (ii) the
 2    surviving spouse of such a claimant, who at the time of death
 3    received or was entitled to receive benefits pursuant to this
 4    subsection,  which  surviving  spouse will become 65 years of
 5    age within the 24 months immediately following the  death  of
 6    such  claimant  and which surviving spouse but for his or her
 7    age is otherwise qualified to receive  benefits  pursuant  to
 8    this  subsection,  or (iii) disabled, and (2) be domiciled in
 9    this State at the time he or she files his or her claim,  and
10    (3)  have a maximum household income of less than $14,000 for
11    grant years before the 1998 grant year, less than $16,000 for
12    the 1998 and 1999 grant years, and less than (i) $21,218  for
13    a  household  containing  one  person,  (ii)  $28,480  for  a
14    household  containing  2  persons,  or  (iii)  $35,740  for a
15    household containing 3 more persons for the 2000  grant  year
16    and  thereafter.   In addition, each eligible person must (1)
17    obtain an identification card from the Department, (2) at the
18    time the card is obtained, sign a statement assigning to  the
19    State  of  Illinois  benefits  which may be otherwise claimed
20    under any  private  insurance  plans,  and  (3)  present  the
21    identification card to the dispensing pharmacist.
22        Whenever  a generic equivalent for a covered prescription
23    drug is available, the Department shall  reimburse  only  for
24    the  reasonable  costs  of  the  generic equivalent, less the
25    co-pay established in this Section, unless  (i)  the  covered
26    prescription drug contains one or more ingredients defined as
27    a  narrow  therapeutic  index drug at 21 CFR 320.33, (ii) the
28    prescriber indicates on the face of the  prescription  "brand
29    medically necessary", and (iii) the prescriber specifies that
30    a  substitution  is  not  permitted.   When  issuing  an oral
31    prescription for covered prescription medication described in
32    item (i) of this paragraph, the  prescriber  shall  stipulate
33    "brand  medically  necessary"  and that a substitution is not
34    permitted.   If  the  covered  prescription  drug   and   its
 
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 1    authorizing  prescription  do  not  meet  the criteria listed
 2    above,  the  beneficiary   may   purchase   the   non-generic
 3    equivalent  of  the  covered  prescription drug by paying the
 4    difference between the generic cost and the non-generic  cost
 5    plus the beneficiary co-pay.
 6        Any   person   otherwise   eligible   for  pharmaceutical
 7    assistance under this Act whose covered drugs are covered  by
 8    any  public  program for assistance in purchasing any covered
 9    prescription drugs shall be ineligible for  assistance  under
10    this  Act  to the extent such costs are covered by such other
11    plan.
12        The  fee  to  be  charged  by  the  Department  for   the
13    identification  card  shall  be equal to $5 per coverage year
14    for persons below the official poverty line as defined by the
15    United States Department of Health and Human Services and $25
16    per coverage year for all other persons.
17        In the event that 2 or more persons are eligible for  any
18    benefit   under  this  Act,  and  are  members  of  the  same
19    household,  (1)  each  such  person  shall  be  entitled   to
20    participate   in   the   pharmaceutical  assistance  program,
21    provided that he or she meets all other requirements  imposed
22    by  this  subsection  and  (2)  each  participating household
23    member contributes the fee required for that  person  by  the
24    preceding   paragraph   for   the  purpose  of  obtaining  an
25    identification card.
26    (Source: P.A. 91-357,  eff.  7-29-99;  91-699,  eff.  1-1-01;
27    92-131,  eff.  7-23-01;  92-519,  eff.  1-1-02;  92-651, eff.
28    7-11-02.)