State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_HB0114

 
                                               LRB9200883SMdv

 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 the such claimant
16    and which  surviving  spouse  but  for  his  or  her  age  is
17    otherwise  qualified  to  receive  a  grant  pursuant to this
18    Section, and  any  disabled  person  whose  annual  household
19    income  is  less than $14,000 for grant years before the 1998
20    grant year, less than $16,000 for the  1998  and  1999  grant
21    years,  and  less than (i) $21,218 for a household containing
22    one  person,  (ii)  $28,480  for  a  household  containing  2
23    persons, or (iii) $35,740 for a  household  containing  3  or
24    more persons for the 2000 grant year and thereafter and whose
25    household  is liable for payment of property taxes accrued or
26    has paid rent constituting  property  taxes  accrued  and  is
27    domiciled  in  this  State  at the time he files his claim is
28    entitled to claim a grant under this  Act.  With  respect  to
29    claims  filed  by  individuals  who  will become 65 years old
30    during the calendar year in  which  a  claim  is  filed,  the
31    amount of any grant to which that household is entitled shall
 
                            -2-                LRB9200883SMdv
 1    be  an  amount  equal  to  1/12  of  the  amount to which the
 2    claimant would otherwise be  entitled  as  provided  in  this
 3    Section,  multiplied  by  the  number  of months in which the
 4    claimant was 65 in the calendar year in which  the  claim  is
 5    filed.
 6        (b)  Limitation.    Except   as   otherwise  provided  in
 7    subsections (a) and (f) of this Section, the  maximum  amount
 8    of  grant which a claimant is entitled to claim is the amount
 9    by which the  property  taxes  accrued  which  were  paid  or
10    payable   during   the   last  preceding  tax  year  or  rent
11    constituting  property  taxes  accrued  upon  the  claimant's
12    residence for the last preceding taxable year exceeds 3  1/2%
13    of  the  claimant's  household income for that year but in no
14    event is the grant to exceed (i) $700 less 4.5% of  household
15    income  for  that  year  for those with a household income of
16    $14,000 or less or (ii) $70 if household income for that year
17    is more than $14,000.
18        (c)  Public aid recipients.  If household income  in  one
19    or  more  months  during  a  year includes cash assistance in
20    excess of $55 per month from the Department of Public Aid  or
21    the  Department of Human Services (acting as successor to the
22    Department of  Public  Aid  under  the  Department  of  Human
23    Services Act)  which was determined under regulations of that
24    Department  on  a  measure of need that included an allowance
25    for actual rent or property taxes paid by  the  recipient  of
26    that  assistance, the amount of grant to which that household
27    is entitled, except as otherwise provided in subsection  (a),
28    shall  be  the  product of (1) the maximum amount computed as
29    specified in subsection (b) of this Section and (2) the ratio
30    of the number of months in which  household  income  did  not
31    include  such  cash assistance over $55 to the number twelve.
32    If household income did not include such cash assistance over
33    $55 for any months during the year, the amount of  the  grant
34    to  which  the  household  is  entitled  shall be the maximum
 
                            -3-                LRB9200883SMdv
 1    amount computed  as  specified  in  subsection  (b)  of  this
 2    Section.    For   purposes   of  this  paragraph  (c),  "cash
 3    assistance" does not include any amount  received  under  the
 4    federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
 5        (d)  Joint  ownership.  If title to the residence is held
 6    jointly by the claimant with a person who is not a member  of
 7    his  household,  the amount of property taxes accrued used in
 8    computing the amount of grant to which he is  entitled  shall
 9    be  the  same  percentage of property taxes accrued as is the
10    percentage  of  ownership  held  by  the  claimant   in   the
11    residence.
12        (e)  More than one residence.  If a claimant has occupied
13    more  than  one  residence  in the taxable year, he may claim
14    only one residence for any part of a month.  In the  case  of
15    property  taxes  accrued, he shall pro rate 1/12 of the total
16    property taxes accrued on his residence to each month that he
17    owned and occupied that residence; and, in the case  of  rent
18    constituting  property  taxes  accrued,  shall  pro rate each
19    month's rent payments  to  the  residence  actually  occupied
20    during that month.
21        (f)  There   is   hereby   established   a   program   of
22    pharmaceutical  assistance  to  the  aged  and disabled which
23    shall be administered by the Department  in  accordance  with
24    this Act, to consist of payments to authorized pharmacies, on
25    behalf  of  beneficiaries  of the program, for the reasonable
26    costs of covered prescription drugs.   Each  beneficiary  who
27    pays  $5  for  an identification card shall pay no additional
28    prescription costs.  Each beneficiary who  pays  $25  for  an
29    identification  card  shall  pay  $3  per  prescription.   In
30    addition,  after  a  beneficiary  receives $2,000 in benefits
31    during a State fiscal year, that beneficiary  shall  also  be
32    charged  20%  of  the  cost  of  each  prescription for which
33    payments are made by the program during the remainder of  the
34    fiscal  year.   To  become a beneficiary under this program a
 
                            -4-                LRB9200883SMdv
 1    person must be: (1) (i)  65  years  or  older,  or  (ii)  the
 2    surviving spouse of such a claimant, who at the time of death
 3    received or was entitled to receive benefits pursuant to this
 4    subsection,  which  surviving  spouse will become 65 years of
 5    age within the 24 months immediately following the  death  of
 6    such  claimant  and which surviving spouse but for his or her
 7    age is otherwise qualified to receive  benefits  pursuant  to
 8    this  subsection,  or (iii) disabled, and (2) is domiciled in
 9    this State at the time he files his or her claim, and (3) has
10    a maximum household income of less  than  $14,000  for  grant
11    years  before  the 1998 grant year, less than $16,000 for the
12    1998 and 1999 grant years, and less than (i)  $21,218  for  a
13    household containing one person, (ii) $28,480 for a household
14    containing  2  persons,  or  (iii)  $35,740  for  a household
15    containing 3  more  persons  for  the  2000  grant  year  and
16    thereafter. In addition, each eligible person must (1) obtain
17    an  identification  card from the Department, (2) at the time
18    the card is obtained, sign a statement assigning to the State
19    of Illinois benefits which may be otherwise claimed under any
20    private insurance plans, (3) present the identification  card
21    to the dispensing pharmacist.
22        Whenever  a generic equivalent for a covered prescription
23    drug is available, the Department shall  reimburse  only  for
24    the  reasonable  costs  of  the  generic equivalent, less the
25    co-pay established in this Section, unless  (i)  the  covered
26    prescription drug contains one or more ingredients defined as
27    a  narrow  therapeutic  index drug at 21 CFR 320.33, (ii) the
28    prescriber indicates on the face of the  prescription  "brand
29    medically necessary", and (iii) the prescriber specifies that
30    a  substitution  is  not  permitted.   When  issuing  an oral
31    prescription for covered prescription medication described in
32    item (i) of this paragraph, the  prescriber  shall  stipulate
33    "brand  medically  necessary"  and that a substitution is not
34    permitted.   If  the  covered  prescription  drug   and   its
 
                            -5-                LRB9200883SMdv
 1    authorizing  prescription  do  not  meet  the criteria listed
 2    above,  the  beneficiary   may   purchase   the   non-generic
 3    equivalent  of  the  covered  prescription drug by paying the
 4    difference between the generic cost and the non-generic  cost
 5    plus the beneficiary co-pay.
 6        Any   person   otherwise   eligible   for  pharmaceutical
 7    assistance under this Act whose covered drugs are covered  by
 8    any  public  program for assistance in purchasing any covered
 9    prescription drugs shall be ineligible for  assistance  under
10    this  Act  to the extent such costs are covered by such other
11    plan.
12        The  fee  to  be  charged  by  the  Department  for   the
13    identification  card  shall  be equal to $5 for persons below
14    the official poverty line as defined  by  the  United  States
15    Department of Health and Human Services and $25 for all other
16    persons.
17        In  the event that 2 or more persons are eligible for any
18    benefit  under  this  Act,  and  are  members  of  the   same
19    household,   (1)  each  such  person  shall  be  entitled  to
20    participate  in  the   pharmaceutical   assistance   program,
21    provided  that he or she meets all other requirements imposed
22    by this  subsection  and  (2)  each  participating  household
23    member  contributes  the  fee required for that person by the
24    preceding  paragraph  for  the  purpose   of   obtaining   an
25    identification card.
26    (Source: P.A.  90-650,  eff.  7-27-98;  91-357, eff. 7-29-99;
27    91-699, eff. 1-1-01.)

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