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92_HB1076
LRB9206380DJgc
1 AN ACT in relation to aging.
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 Sections 3.15 and 4 and by adding
7 Sections 3.18 and 3.19 as follows:
8 (320 ILCS 25/3.15) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 403.15)
9 Sec. 3.15. "Covered prescription drug" means (1) any
10 cardiovascular agent or drug; (2) any insulin or other
11 prescription drug used in the treatment of diabetes,
12 including syringe and needles used to administer the insulin;
13 (3) any prescription drug used in the treatment of arthritis,
14 (4) beginning on January 1, 2001, any prescription drug used
15 in the treatment of cancer, (5) beginning on January 1, 2001,
16 any prescription drug used in the treatment of Alzheimer's
17 disease, (6) beginning on January 1, 2001, any prescription
18 drug used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, (7)
19 beginning on January 1, 2001, any prescription drug used in
20 the treatment of glaucoma, and (8) beginning on January 1,
21 2001, any prescription drug used in the treatment of lung
22 disease and smoking related illnesses, and (9) beginning on
23 January 1, 2002, any prescription drug used in the treatment
24 of osteoporosis. The specific agents or products to be
25 included under such categories shall be listed in a handbook
26 to be prepared and distributed by the Department. The
27 general types of covered prescription drugs shall be
28 indicated by rule. The Department of Public Health shall
29 promulgate a list of covered prescription drugs under this
30 program that meet the definition of a narrow therapeutic
31 index drug as described in subsection (f) of Section 4.
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1 (Source: P.A. 91-699, eff. 1-1-01.)
2 (320 ILCS 25/3.18 new)
3 Sec. 3.18. Drug used in the treatment of. "Drug used in
4 the treatment of" means (i) a drug used to treat a specified
5 disease or illness or secondary conditions caused by the
6 disease or illness and (ii) a drug used to treat side effects
7 resulting from the use of a drug used to treat the disease or
8 illness.
9 (320 ILCS 25/3.19 new)
10 Sec. 3.19. Disease. "Disease" means a chronic and
11 possibly recurrent illness of long duration, as distinguished
12 from an acute illness that is of short duration with recovery
13 due to limited medical treatment. "Disease" also includes
14 pneumonia, bronchitis, or other similar illnesses.
15 (320 ILCS 25/4) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 404)
16 Sec. 4. Amount of Grant.
17 (a) In general. Any individual 65 years or older or any
18 individual who will become 65 years old during the calendar
19 year in which a claim is filed, and any surviving spouse of
20 such a claimant, who at the time of death received or was
21 entitled to receive a grant pursuant to this Section, which
22 surviving spouse will become 65 years of age within the 24
23 months immediately following the death of such claimant and
24 which surviving spouse but for his or her age is otherwise
25 qualified to receive a grant pursuant to this Section, and
26 any disabled person whose annual household income is less
27 than $14,000 for grant years before the 1998 grant year, less
28 than $16,000 for the 1998 and 1999 grant years, and less than
29 (i) $21,218 for a household containing one person, (ii)
30 $28,480 for a household containing 2 persons, or (iii)
31 $35,740 for a household containing 3 or more persons for the
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1 2000 grant year, and less than (i) $28,000 for a household
2 containing one person, (ii) $35,000 for a household
3 containing 2 persons, or (iii) $42,000 for a household
4 containing 3 or more persons for the 2001 grant year and
5 thereafter and whose household is liable for payment of
6 property taxes accrued or has paid rent constituting property
7 taxes accrued and is domiciled in this State at the time he
8 files his claim is entitled to claim a grant under this Act.
9 With respect to claims filed by individuals who will become
10 65 years old during the calendar year in which a claim is
11 filed, the amount of any grant to which that household is
12 entitled shall be an amount equal to 1/12 of the amount to
13 which the claimant would otherwise be entitled as provided in
14 this Section, multiplied by the number of months in which the
15 claimant was 65 in the calendar year in which the claim is
16 filed.
17 (b) Limitation. Except as otherwise provided in
18 subsections (a) and (f) of this Section, the maximum amount
19 of grant which a claimant is entitled to claim is the amount
20 by which the property taxes accrued which were paid or
21 payable during the last preceding tax year or rent
22 constituting property taxes accrued upon the claimant's
23 residence for the last preceding taxable year exceeds 3 1/2%
24 of the claimant's household income for that year but in no
25 event is the grant to exceed (i) $700 less 4.5% of household
26 income for that year for those with a household income of
27 $14,000 or less or (ii) $70 if household income for that year
28 is more than $14,000.
29 (c) Public aid recipients. If household income in one
30 or more months during a year includes cash assistance in
31 excess of $55 per month from the Department of Public Aid or
32 the Department of Human Services (acting as successor to the
33 Department of Public Aid under the Department of Human
34 Services Act) which was determined under regulations of that
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1 Department on a measure of need that included an allowance
2 for actual rent or property taxes paid by the recipient of
3 that assistance, the amount of grant to which that household
4 is entitled, except as otherwise provided in subsection (a),
5 shall be the product of (1) the maximum amount computed as
6 specified in subsection (b) of this Section and (2) the ratio
7 of the number of months in which household income did not
8 include such cash assistance over $55 to the number twelve.
9 If household income did not include such cash assistance over
10 $55 for any months during the year, the amount of the grant
11 to which the household is entitled shall be the maximum
12 amount computed as specified in subsection (b) of this
13 Section. For purposes of this paragraph (c), "cash
14 assistance" does not include any amount received under the
15 federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
16 (d) Joint ownership. If title to the residence is held
17 jointly by the claimant with a person who is not a member of
18 his household, the amount of property taxes accrued used in
19 computing the amount of grant to which he is entitled shall
20 be the same percentage of property taxes accrued as is the
21 percentage of ownership held by the claimant in the
22 residence.
23 (e) More than one residence. If a claimant has occupied
24 more than one residence in the taxable year, he may claim
25 only one residence for any part of a month. In the case of
26 property taxes accrued, he shall pro rate 1/12 of the total
27 property taxes accrued on his residence to each month that he
28 owned and occupied that residence; and, in the case of rent
29 constituting property taxes accrued, shall pro rate each
30 month's rent payments to the residence actually occupied
31 during that month.
32 (f) There is hereby established a program of
33 pharmaceutical assistance to the aged and disabled which
34 shall be administered by the Department in accordance with
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1 this Act, to consist of payments to authorized pharmacies, on
2 behalf of beneficiaries of the program, for the reasonable
3 costs of covered prescription drugs. Each beneficiary who
4 pays $5 for an identification card shall pay no additional
5 prescription costs. Each beneficiary who pays $25 for an
6 identification card shall pay $3 per prescription. In
7 addition, after a beneficiary receives $2,000 in benefits
8 during a State fiscal year through December 31, 2001 and, on
9 and after January 1, 2002, after a beneficiary receives
10 $2,000 in benefits during a calendar year, that beneficiary
11 shall also be charged 20% of the cost of each prescription
12 for which payments are made by the program during the
13 remainder of the fiscal year through December 31, 2001 and,
14 on and after January 1, 2002, during the remainder of the
15 calendar year. To become a beneficiary under this program a
16 person must be: (1) (i) 65 years or older, or (ii) the
17 surviving spouse of such a claimant, who at the time of death
18 received or was entitled to receive benefits pursuant to this
19 subsection, which surviving spouse will become 65 years of
20 age within the 24 months immediately following the death of
21 such claimant and which surviving spouse but for his or her
22 age is otherwise qualified to receive benefits pursuant to
23 this subsection, or (iii) disabled, and (2) is domiciled in
24 this State at the time he files his or her claim, and (3) has
25 a maximum household income of less than $14,000 for grant
26 years before the 1998 grant year, less than $16,000 for the
27 1998 and 1999 grant years, and less than (i) $21,218 for a
28 household containing one person, (ii) $28,480 for a household
29 containing 2 persons, or (iii) $35,740 for a household
30 containing 3 more persons for the 2000 grant year, and less
31 than (i) $28,000 for a household containing one person, (ii)
32 $35,000 for a household containing 2 persons, or (iii)
33 $42,000 for a household containing 3 or more persons for the
34 2001 grant year and thereafter. In addition, each eligible
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1 person must (1) obtain an identification card from the
2 Department, (2) at the time the card is obtained, sign a
3 statement assigning to the State of Illinois benefits which
4 may be otherwise claimed under any private insurance plans,
5 (3) present the identification card to the dispensing
6 pharmacist.
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
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1 per coverage year for all other persons. On and before
2 December 31, 2001, coverage under this pharmaceutical
3 assistance program shall begin on the date of application
4 approval and be in effect for 12 months. On and after January
5 1, 2002, coverage under this pharmaceutical assistance
6 program shall be in effect on a calendar year basis.
7 In the event that 2 or more persons are eligible for any
8 benefit under this Act, and are members of the same
9 household, (1) each such person shall be entitled to
10 participate in the pharmaceutical assistance program,
11 provided that he or she meets all other requirements imposed
12 by this subsection and (2) each participating household
13 member contributes the fee required for that person by the
14 preceding paragraph for the purpose of obtaining an
15 identification card.
16 (Source: P.A. 90-650, eff. 7-27-98; 91-357, eff. 7-29-99;
17 91-699, eff. 1-1-01.)
18 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
19 becoming law.