August 14, 2009
To the Honorable Members of the Illinois House of Representatives,
96th General Assembly:
Today I return House Bill 366 with my specific recommendations for change. I thank the sponsors for their hard work and the members of the General Assembly for passing this bill. Furthermore, I recognize that many advocates and members of the General Assembly have fought long and hard for this change. I wholeheartedly agree that we all must work together to provide support to seniors and disabled persons throughout our State. However, there are aspects of this bill that I must address.
The expansions of healthcare under House Bill 366 do not qualify for federal Medicaid matching. During this period of unprecedented financial strain, we cannot create any new programs without sufficient revenue. Accordingly, I am recommending that the effective date of this bill be changed to July 1, 2012, and that the programs be made subject to appropriation, in order to allow the state time to improve its fiscal health.
Therefore, pursuant to Article IV, Section 9(e) of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, I hereby return House Bill 366, entitled “AN ACT concerning public aging”, with the following specific recommendations for change:
on page 6, by replacing line 13 with “Article. The benefits under this Act are subject to appropriation."; and
on page 15, by replacing lines 18-22 with "For 2011 claim year applications submitted during calendar year 2012, and claim years thereafter, a household must have annual household income of less than the applicable limit for its size, calculated to reflect the annual cost of living adjustment in Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits that are applicable to the year for which those benefits are being reported as income on an application in each intervening year for the 2006 through 2011 calendar years, keeping the limit commensurate with the Pharmaceutical Assistance Program."; and
on page 15, line 24 by replacing "2011" with "2013"; and
on page 22, by replacing lines 14-24 with
"(5) for the 2007 claim year through the 2010 claim year, have a maximum household income of (i) less than $22,218 for a household containing one person, (ii) $29,480 for a household containing 2 persons, or (iii) $36,740 for a household containing 3 or more persons; and
6) for 2011 claim year applications submitted during calendar year 2012, and claim years thereafter, a household must have annual household income of less than the applicable limit for its size, as calculated to reflect the annual cost of living adjustment in Social Security and Supplemental Security Income benefits that is applicable to the year for which those benefits are being reported as income on an application in each intervening year for the 2006 through 2011 calendar years."; and
on page 22, line 26 by replacing "2011" with "2013"; and
on page 40, by replacing line 11 with "1, 2010. The changes made by this amendatory Act with respect to eligibility groups and pharmaceutical benefits in Section 4(g) shall take effect on January 1, 2012."
With these changes, House Bill 366 will have my approval. I respectfully request your concurrence.
Sincerely,
PAT QUINN
Governor