093_HB2886

 
                                     LRB093 04464 SJM 04516 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 such  claimant  and
16    which  surviving  spouse  but for his or her age is otherwise
17    qualified to receive a grant pursuant to  this  Section,  and
18    any  disabled  person  whose  annual household income is less
19    than $14,000 for grant years before the 1998 grant year, less
20    than $16,000 for the 1998 and 1999 grant years, and less than
21    (i) $21,218 for  a  household  containing  one  person,  (ii)
22    $28,480  for  a  household  containing  2  persons,  or (iii)
23    $35,740 for a household containing 3 or more persons for  the
24    2000  grant  year,  and less than (i) $28,000 for a household
25    containing  one  person,  (ii)  $35,000   for   a   household
26    containing  2  persons,  or  (iii)  $42,000  for  a household
27    containing 3 or more persons for  the  2003  grant  year  and
28    thereafter  and  whose  household  is  liable  for payment of
29    property taxes accrued or has paid rent constituting property
30    taxes accrued and is domiciled in this State at the  time  he
31    or  she  files  his or her claim is entitled to claim a grant
 
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 1    under this Act. Beginning January 1, 2004, the amount of  the
 2    limitation  on the household income of the applicant shall be
 3    subject to annual adjustments  equal  to  the  percentage  of
 4    increase  in the previous calendar year in the Consumer Price
 5    Index for All Urban Consumers for all items published by  the
 6    United  States  Department  of  Labor. With respect to claims
 7    filed by individuals who will become 65 years old during  the
 8    calendar  year  in  which a claim is filed, the amount of any
 9    grant to which that household is entitled shall be an  amount
10    equal  to  1/12  of  the  amount  to which the claimant would
11    otherwise be entitled as provided in this Section, multiplied
12    by the number of months in which the claimant was 65  in  the
13    calendar year in which the claim is filed.
14        (b)  Limitation.    Except   as   otherwise  provided  in
15    subsections (a) and (f) of this Section, the  maximum  amount
16    of  grant which a claimant is entitled to claim is the amount
17    by which the  property  taxes  accrued  which  were  paid  or
18    payable   during   the   last  preceding  tax  year  or  rent
19    constituting  property  taxes  accrued  upon  the  claimant's
20    residence for the last preceding taxable year exceeds 3  1/2%
21    of  the  claimant's  household income for that year but in no
22    event is the grant to exceed (i) $700 less 4.5% of  household
23    income  for  that  year  for those with a household income of
24    $14,000 or less or (ii) $70 if household income for that year
25    is more than $14,000.
26        (c)  Public aid recipients.  If household income  in  one
27    or  more  months  during  a  year includes cash assistance in
28    excess of $55 per month from the Department of Public Aid  or
29    the  Department of Human Services (acting as successor to the
30    Department of  Public  Aid  under  the  Department  of  Human
31    Services  Act) which was determined under regulations of that
32    Department on a measure of need that  included  an  allowance
33    for  actual  rent  or property taxes paid by the recipient of
34    that assistance, the amount of grant to which that  household
 
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 1    is  entitled, except as otherwise provided in subsection (a),
 2    shall be the product of (1) the maximum  amount  computed  as
 3    specified in subsection (b) of this Section and (2) the ratio
 4    of  the  number  of  months in which household income did not
 5    include such cash assistance over $55 to the  number  twelve.
 6    If household income did not include such cash assistance over
 7    $55  for  any months during the year, the amount of the grant
 8    to which the household  is  entitled  shall  be  the  maximum
 9    amount  computed  as  specified  in  subsection  (b)  of this
10    Section.   For  purposes  of  this   paragraph   (c),   "cash
11    assistance"  does  not  include any amount received under the
12    federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
13        (d)  Joint ownership.  If title to the residence is  held
14    jointly  by the claimant with a person who is not a member of
15    his or her household, the amount of  property  taxes  accrued
16    used  in  computing the amount of grant to which he or she is
17    entitled shall be  the  same  percentage  of  property  taxes
18    accrued  as  is  the  percentage  of  ownership  held  by the
19    claimant in the residence.
20        (e)  More than one residence.  If a claimant has occupied
21    more than one residence in the taxable year, he  or  she  may
22    claim  only  one  residence  for any part of a month.  In the
23    case of property taxes accrued, he or she shall prorate  1/12
24    of  the  total property taxes accrued on his or her residence
25    to each  month  that  he  or  she  owned  and  occupied  that
26    residence;  and,  in  the  case of rent constituting property
27    taxes accrued, shall prorate each month's  rent  payments  to
28    the residence actually occupied during that month.
29        (f)  There   is   hereby   established   a   program   of
30    pharmaceutical  assistance  to  the  aged  and disabled which
31    shall be administered by the Department  in  accordance  with
32    this Act, to consist of payments to authorized pharmacies, on
33    behalf  of  beneficiaries  of the program, for the reasonable
34    costs of covered prescription drugs.   Each  beneficiary  who
 
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 1    pays  $5  for  an identification card shall pay no additional
 2    prescription costs.  Each beneficiary who  pays  $25  for  an
 3    identification  card  shall  pay  $3  per  prescription.   In
 4    addition,  after  a  beneficiary  receives $2,000 in benefits
 5    during a State fiscal year, that beneficiary  shall  also  be
 6    charged  20%  of  the  cost  of  each  prescription for which
 7    payments are made by the program during the remainder of  the
 8    fiscal  year.   To  become a beneficiary under this program a
 9    person must: (1) be (i) 65 years of age or older, or (ii) the
10    surviving spouse of such a claimant, who at the time of death
11    received or was entitled to receive benefits pursuant to this
12    subsection, which surviving spouse will become  65  years  of
13    age  within  the 24 months immediately following the death of
14    such claimant and which surviving spouse but for his  or  her
15    age  is  otherwise  qualified to receive benefits pursuant to
16    this subsection, or (iii) disabled, and (2) be  domiciled  in
17    this  State at the time he or she files his or her claim, and
18    (3) have a maximum household income of less than $14,000  for
19    grant years before the 1998 grant year, less than $16,000 for
20    the  1998 and 1999 grant years, and less than (i) $21,218 for
21    a  household  containing  one  person,  (ii)  $28,480  for  a
22    household containing  2  persons,  or  (iii)  $35,740  for  a
23    household  containing 3 more persons for the 2000 grant year,
24    and less than (i) $28,000  for  a  household  containing  one
25    person, (ii) $35,000 for a household containing 2 persons, or
26    (iii)  $42,000  for  a household containing 3 or more persons
27    for the 2003 grant year and thereafter. Beginning January  1,
28    2004, the amount of the limitation on the household income of
29    the applicant shall be subject to annual adjustments equal to
30    the  percentage  of increase in the previous calendar year in
31    the Consumer Price Index for  All  Urban  Consumers  for  all
32    items  published by the United States Department of Labor. In
33    addition,  each  eligible   person   must   (1)   obtain   an
34    identification  card from the Department, (2) at the time the
 
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 1    card is obtained, sign a statement assigning to the State  of
 2    Illinois  benefits  which  may be otherwise claimed under any
 3    private insurance plans, and (3) present  the  identification
 4    card to the dispensing pharmacist.
 5        Whenever  a generic equivalent for a covered prescription
 6    drug is available, the Department shall  reimburse  only  for
 7    the  reasonable  costs  of  the  generic equivalent, less the
 8    co-pay established in this Section, unless  (i)  the  covered
 9    prescription drug contains one or more ingredients defined as
10    a  narrow  therapeutic  index drug at 21 CFR 320.33, (ii) the
11    prescriber indicates on the face of the  prescription  "brand
12    medically necessary", and (iii) the prescriber specifies that
13    a  substitution  is  not  permitted.   When  issuing  an oral
14    prescription for covered prescription medication described in
15    item (i) of this paragraph, the  prescriber  shall  stipulate
16    "brand  medically  necessary"  and that a substitution is not
17    permitted.   If  the  covered  prescription  drug   and   its
18    authorizing  prescription  do  not  meet  the criteria listed
19    above,  the  beneficiary   may   purchase   the   non-generic
20    equivalent  of  the  covered  prescription drug by paying the
21    difference between the generic cost and the non-generic  cost
22    plus the beneficiary co-pay.
23        Any   person   otherwise   eligible   for  pharmaceutical
24    assistance under this Act whose covered drugs are covered  by
25    any  public  program for assistance in purchasing any covered
26    prescription drugs shall be ineligible for  assistance  under
27    this  Act  to the extent such costs are covered by such other
28    plan.
29        The  fee  to  be  charged  by  the  Department  for   the
30    identification  card  shall  be equal to $5 per coverage year
31    for persons below the official poverty line as defined by the
32    United States Department of Health and Human Services and $25
33    per coverage year for all other persons.
34        In the event that 2 or more persons are eligible for  any
 
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 1    benefit   under  this  Act,  and  are  members  of  the  same
 2    household,  (1)  each  such  person  shall  be  entitled   to
 3    participate   in   the   pharmaceutical  assistance  program,
 4    provided that he or she meets all other requirements  imposed
 5    by  this  subsection  and  (2)  each  participating household
 6    member contributes the fee required for that  person  by  the
 7    preceding   paragraph   for   the  purpose  of  obtaining  an
 8    identification card.
 9    (Source: P.A. 91-357,  eff.  7-29-99;  91-699,  eff.  1-1-01;
10    92-131,  eff.  7-23-01;  92-519,  eff.  1-1-02;  92-651, eff.
11    7-11-02.)

12        Section 99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect  upon
13    becoming law.