SB0293ham001 93rd General Assembly

093_SB0293ham001











                                     LRB093 06965 LCB 15706 a

 1                    AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 293

 2        AMENDMENT NO.     .  Amend Senate Bill  293  on  page  1,
 3    line  6,  by replacing "Section 3.15" with "Sections 3.15 and
 4    4"; and

 5    on page 1, after line 31, by inserting the following:

 6        "(320 ILCS 25/4) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 404)
 7        Sec. 4.  Amount of Grant.
 8        (a)  In general.  Any individual 65 years or older or any
 9    individual who will become 65 years old during  the  calendar
10    year  in  which a claim is filed, and any surviving spouse of
11    such a claimant, who at the time of  death  received  or  was
12    entitled  to  receive a grant pursuant to this Section, which
13    surviving spouse will become 65 years of age  within  the  24
14    months  immediately  following the death of such claimant and
15    which surviving spouse but for his or her  age  is  otherwise
16    qualified  to  receive  a grant pursuant to this Section, and
17    any disabled person whose annual  household  income  is  less
18    than $14,000 for grant years before the 1998 grant year, less
19    than $16,000 for the 1998 and 1999 grant years, and less than
20    (i)  $21,218  for  a  household  containing  one person, (ii)
21    $28,480 for  a  household  containing  2  persons,  or  (iii)
22    $35,740  for a household containing 3 or more persons for the
 
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 1    2000 grant year and thereafter and whose household is  liable
 2    for  payment  of  property  taxes  accrued  or  has paid rent
 3    constituting property taxes accrued and is domiciled in  this
 4    State  at  the  time  he  or  she  files  his or her claim is
 5    entitled to claim a grant under this  Act.  With  respect  to
 6    claims  filed  by  individuals  who  will become 65 years old
 7    during the calendar year in  which  a  claim  is  filed,  the
 8    amount of any grant to which that household is entitled shall
 9    be  an  amount  equal  to  1/12  of  the  amount to which the
10    claimant would otherwise be  entitled  as  provided  in  this
11    Section,  multiplied  by  the  number  of months in which the
12    claimant was 65 in the calendar year in which  the  claim  is
13    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
 
                            -3-      LRB093 06965 LCB 15706 a
 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
 
                            -4-      LRB093 06965 LCB 15706 a
 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 thereafter.  In addition, each eligible person  must  (1)
25    obtain an identification card from the Department, (2) at the
26    time  the card is obtained, sign a statement assigning to the
27    State of Illinois benefits which  may  be  otherwise  claimed
28    under  any  private  insurance  plans,  and  (3)  present the
29    identification card to the dispensing pharmacist.
30        The  Department  shall   adopt   rules   specifying   all
31    eligibility    and   participation   requirements   for   the
32    pharmaceutical  assistance   program,   including   copayment
33    amounts,  identification  card  fees, expenditure limits, and
34    the benefit threshold after which a 20% charge is imposed  on
 
                            -5-      LRB093 06965 LCB 15706 a
 1    the  cost  of each prescription, to be in effect on and after
 2    July 1, 2004. To the extent practicable,  those  requirements
 3    shall be commensurate with the requirements provided in rules
 4    adopted  by  the  Department  of  Public Aid to implement the
 5    pharmacy assistance program  under  Section  5-5.12a  of  the
 6    Illinois Public Aid Code.
 7        Whenever  a generic equivalent for a covered prescription
 8    drug is available, the Department shall  reimburse  only  for
 9    the  reasonable  costs  of  the  generic equivalent, less the
10    co-pay established in this Section, unless  (i)  the  covered
11    prescription drug contains one or more ingredients defined as
12    a  narrow  therapeutic  index drug at 21 CFR 320.33, (ii) the
13    prescriber indicates on the face of the  prescription  "brand
14    medically necessary", and (iii) the prescriber specifies that
15    a  substitution  is  not  permitted.   When  issuing  an oral
16    prescription for covered prescription medication described in
17    item (i) of this paragraph, the  prescriber  shall  stipulate
18    "brand  medically  necessary"  and that a substitution is not
19    permitted.   If  the  covered  prescription  drug   and   its
20    authorizing  prescription  do  not  meet  the criteria listed
21    above,  the  beneficiary   may   purchase   the   non-generic
22    equivalent  of  the  covered  prescription drug by paying the
23    difference between the generic cost and the non-generic  cost
24    plus the beneficiary co-pay.
25        Any   person   otherwise   eligible   for  pharmaceutical
26    assistance under this Act whose covered drugs are covered  by
27    any  public  program for assistance in purchasing any covered
28    prescription drugs shall be ineligible for  assistance  under
29    this  Act  to the extent such costs are covered by such other
30    plan.
31        The  fee  to  be  charged  by  the  Department  for   the
32    identification  card  shall  be equal to $5 per coverage year
33    for persons below the official poverty line as defined by the
34    United States Department of Health and Human Services and $25
 
                            -6-      LRB093 06965 LCB 15706 a
 1    per coverage year for all other persons.
 2        In the event that 2 or more persons are eligible for  any
 3    benefit   under  this  Act,  and  are  members  of  the  same
 4    household,  (1)  each  such  person  shall  be  entitled   to
 5    participate   in   the   pharmaceutical  assistance  program,
 6    provided that he or she meets all other requirements  imposed
 7    by  this  subsection  and  (2)  each  participating household
 8    member contributes the fee required for that  person  by  the
 9    preceding   paragraph   for   the  purpose  of  obtaining  an
10    identification card.
11    (Source: P.A. 91-357,  eff.  7-29-99;  91-699,  eff.  1-1-01;
12    92-131,  eff.  7-23-01;  92-519,  eff.  1-1-02;  92-651, eff.
13    7-11-02.)

14        Section 99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect  upon
15    becoming law.".