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90_HB3184
320 ILCS 25/3.15 from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 403.15
320 ILCS 25/4 from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 404
Amends the Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons Property
Tax Relief and Pharmaceutical Assistance Act. Provides that
beginning January 1, 1999, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's
disease, and cancer medication will be covered under the Act.
Increases the income limitation, beginning with the 1998
grant year, from $14,000 to $25,000. Provides that the
maximum grant for claimants with an income of more than
$14,000 but less than $25,000 is $70.
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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 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; (4) beginning January 1, 1999, any prescription
16 drug used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease; (5)
17 beginning January 1, 1999, any prescription drug used in the
18 treatment of Alzheimer's disease; and (6) beginning January
19 1, 1999, any prescription drug used in the treatment of
20 cancer. The specific agents or products to be included under
21 such categories shall be listed in a handbook to be prepared
22 and distributed by the Department. The general types of
23 covered prescription drugs shall be indicated by rule.
24 (Source: P.A. 85-1176.)
25 (320 ILCS 25/4) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 404)
26 Sec. 4. Amount of Grant.
27 (a) In general. Any individual 65 years or older or any
28 individual who will become 65 years old during the calendar
29 year in which a claim is filed, and any surviving spouse of
30 such a claimant, who at the time of death received or was
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1 entitled to receive a grant pursuant to this Section, which
2 surviving spouse will become 65 years of age within the 24
3 months immediately following the death of such claimant and
4 which surviving spouse but for his or her age is otherwise
5 qualified to receive a grant pursuant to this Section, and
6 any disabled person whose annual household income is less
7 than $14,000 for grant years before the 1998 grant year and
8 $25,000 for the 1998 grant year and thereafter and whose
9 household is liable for payment of property taxes accrued or
10 has paid rent constituting property taxes accrued and is
11 domiciled in this State at the time he files his claim is
12 entitled to claim a grant under this Act. With respect to
13 claims filed by individuals who will become 65 years old
14 during the calendar year in which a claim is filed, the
15 amount of any grant to which that household is entitled shall
16 be an amount equal to 1/12 of the amount to which the
17 claimant would otherwise be entitled as provided in this
18 Section, multiplied by the number of months in which the
19 claimant was 65 in the calendar year in which the claim is
20 filed.
21 (b) Limitation. Except as otherwise provided in
22 subsections (a) and (f) of this Section, the maximum amount
23 of grant which a claimant is entitled to claim is the amount
24 by which the property taxes accrued which were paid or
25 payable during the last preceding tax year or rent
26 constituting property taxes accrued upon the claimant's
27 residence for the last preceding taxable year exceeds 3 1/2%
28 of the claimant's household income for that year but in no
29 event is the grant to exceed (i) $700 less 4.5% of household
30 income for that year if the household income is less than
31 $14,000 or (ii) $70 if the household income for that year is
32 $14,000 or more but less than $25,000.
33 (c) Public aid recipients. If household income in one
34 or more months during a year includes cash assistance in
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1 excess of $55 per month from the Department of Public Aid or
2 the Department of Human Services (acting as successor to the
3 Department of Public Aid under the Department of Human
4 Services Act) which was determined under regulations of that
5 Department on a measure of need that included an allowance
6 for actual rent or property taxes paid by the recipient of
7 that assistance, the amount of grant to which that household
8 is entitled, except as otherwise provided in subsection (a),
9 shall be the product of (1) the maximum amount computed as
10 specified in subsection (b) of this Section and (2) the ratio
11 of the number of months in which household income did not
12 include such cash assistance over $55 to the number twelve.
13 If household income did not include such cash assistance over
14 $55 for any months during the year, the amount of the grant
15 to which the household is entitled shall be the maximum
16 amount computed as specified in subsection (b) of this
17 Section. For purposes of this paragraph (c), "cash
18 assistance" does not include any amount received under the
19 federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
20 (d) Joint ownership. If title to the residence is held
21 jointly by the claimant with a person who is not a member of
22 his household, the amount of property taxes accrued used in
23 computing the amount of grant to which he is entitled shall
24 be the same percentage of property taxes accrued as is the
25 percentage of ownership held by the claimant in the
26 residence.
27 (e) More than one residence. If a claimant has occupied
28 more than one residence in the taxable year, he may claim
29 only one residence for any part of a month. In the case of
30 property taxes accrued, he shall pro rate 1/12 of the total
31 property taxes accrued on his residence to each month that he
32 owned and occupied that residence; and, in the case of rent
33 constituting property taxes accrued, shall pro rate each
34 month's rent payments to the residence actually occupied
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1 during that month.
2 (f) There is hereby established a program of
3 pharmaceutical assistance to the aged and disabled which
4 shall be administered by the Department in accordance with
5 this Act, to consist of payments to authorized pharmacies, on
6 behalf of beneficiaries of the program, for the reasonable
7 costs of covered prescription drugs. Each beneficiary who
8 pays $40 for an identification card shall pay the first $15
9 of prescription costs each month. Each beneficiary who pays
10 $80 for an identification card shall pay the first $25 of
11 prescription costs each month. In addition, after a
12 beneficiary receives $800 in benefits during a State fiscal
13 year, that beneficiary shall also be charged 20% of the cost
14 of each prescription for which payments are made by the
15 program during the remainder of the fiscal year. To become a
16 beneficiary under this program a person must be: (1) (i) 65
17 years or older, or (ii) the surviving spouse of such a
18 claimant, who at the time of death received or was entitled
19 to receive benefits pursuant to this subsection, which
20 surviving spouse will become 65 years of age within the 24
21 months immediately following the death of such claimant and
22 which surviving spouse but for his or her age is otherwise
23 qualified to receive benefits pursuant to this subsection, or
24 (iii) disabled, and (2) is domiciled in this State at the
25 time he files his or her claim, and (3) has a maximum
26 household income of less than $14,000 for grant years before
27 the 1998 grant year and $25,000 for the 1998 grant year and
28 thereafter. In addition, each eligible person must (1) obtain
29 an identification card from the Department, (2) at the time
30 the card is obtained, sign a statement assigning to the State
31 of Illinois benefits which may be otherwise claimed under any
32 private insurance plans, (3) present the identification card
33 to the dispensing pharmacist.
34 Any person otherwise eligible for pharmaceutical
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1 assistance under this Act whose covered drugs are covered by
2 any public program for assistance in purchasing any covered
3 prescription drugs shall be ineligible for assistance under
4 this Act to the extent such costs are covered by such other
5 plan.
6 The fee to be charged by the Department for the
7 identification card shall be equal to $40 for persons below
8 the official poverty line as defined by the United States
9 Department of Health and Human Services and $80 for all other
10 persons.
11 In the event that 2 or more persons are eligible for any
12 benefit under this Act, and are members of the same
13 household, (1) each such person shall be entitled to
14 participate in the pharmaceutical assistance program,
15 provided that he or she meets all other requirements imposed
16 by this subsection and (2) each participating household
17 member contributes the fee required for that person by the
18 preceding paragraph for the purpose of obtaining an
19 identification card. Persons eligible for any benefit under
20 this Act due to become 65 in calendar year 1984 or any
21 subsequent calendar year in which a claim is filed are
22 excluded from the benefit prescribed in this subsection (g)
23 for the calendar year in which they become 65.
24 (Source: P.A. 88-45; 89-507, eff. 7-1-97.)
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