20 ILCS 605/605-70

(20 ILCS 605/605-70)

Sec. 605-70. Pharmacy support program.

(a) Subject to appropriation, the Department shall use moneys deposited into the DCEO Projects Fund pursuant to Section 513b2 of the Illinois Insurance Code to make a grant to a statewide retail association representing pharmacies to promote access to pharmacies and pharmacist services.

(b) Grant funds under subsection (a) shall be made available to the following beneficiaries:

(1) critical access care pharmacies as defined in Section 5-5.12b of the Illinois Public Aid Code;

(2) retail pharmacies with a physical location in Illinois owned by a person or entity with an ownership or control interest in fewer than 10 pharmacies;

(3) retail pharmacies with a physical location in a county in Illinois with fewer than 50,000 residents;

(4) retail pharmacies with a physical location in a county in Illinois with 50,000 or more residents and in an area within Illinois that is designated by the United States Department of Health and Human Services as either:

(A) a Medically Underserved Area, including Governor's Exceptions; or

(B) a Medically Underserved Population, including Governor's Exceptions;

(5) pharmacies whose claims constitute 65% or greater for Medicaid services and at least 80% of their total claims are for pharmacy services administered in Illinois;

(6) a pharmacy located in an Illinois census tract that meets both of the following poverty and population density and pharmacy accessibility standards:

(A) the census tract has either: (i) 20% or more of its population living below the poverty guidelines updated periodically in the Federal Register by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services under the authority of 42 U.S.C. 9902(2); or (ii) a median household income of less than 80% of the median income of the nearest metropolitan area; and

(B) the census tract has at least 33% of its population living one mile or more from the pharmacy for urban tracts or more than 10 miles from the pharmacy for rural tracts.

(c) In subsection (b), "rural tract" and "urban tract" have the meanings given to those terms in Section 5 of the Grocery Initiative Act.

(d) Grant funds under subsection (a) shall be disbursed in equal amounts to each beneficiary eligible under subsection (b) that applies for an award. To determine the equal amount available for each beneficiary eligible under subsection (b) each State fiscal year, the total amount appropriated from the DCEO Projects Fund using moneys deposited under Section 513b2 of the Illinois Insurance Code less any amount provided to a statewide retail association for administrative expenses shall be divided by the total number of nonduplicate beneficiaries eligible under subsection (b) that apply for an award in the same fiscal year. A beneficiary may only receive one award per fiscal year even if the beneficiary may qualify under multiple beneficiary categories in subsection (b).

(e) At least annually, the Department shall file with the Governor and the General Assembly a report on the implementation of subsections (a) through (d) that includes:

(1) the number of beneficiaries who applied for funding;

(2) the number of beneficiaries who received funding; and

(3) the pharmacies that were awarded funding, including the location, the amount of funding, and the subsection (b) category or categories under which the pharmacy qualified.

(Source: P.A. 104-439, eff. 12-2-25.)