State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_HB1267

 
                                               LRB9203264TAtm

 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 such  claimant  and
16    which  surviving  spouse  but for his or her age is otherwise
17    qualified to receive a grant pursuant to  this  Section,  and
18    any  disabled  person  whose  annual household income is less
19    than $14,000 for grant years before the 1998 grant year, less
20    than $16,000 for the 1998 and 1999 grant years, and less than
21    (i) $21,218 for  a  household  containing  one  person,  (ii)
22    $28,480  for  a  household  containing  2  persons,  or (iii)
23    $35,740 for a household containing 3 or more persons for  the
24    2000  grant year and thereafter and whose household is liable
25    for payment of  property  taxes  accrued  or  has  paid  rent
26    constituting  property taxes accrued and is domiciled in this
27    State at the time he  or  she  files  his  or  her  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-                LRB9203264TAtm
 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-                LRB9203264TAtm
 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 or her household, the amount of  property  taxes  accrued
 8    used  in  computing the amount of grant to which he or she is
 9    entitled shall be  the  same  percentage  of  property  taxes
10    accrued  as  is  the  percentage  of  ownership  held  by the
11    claimant in the residence.
12        (e)  More than one residence.  If a claimant has occupied
13    more than one residence in the taxable year, he  or  she  may
14    claim  only  one  residence  for any part of a month.  In the
15    case of property taxes accrued, he or she must shall pro rate
16    1/12 of the total  property  taxes  accrued  on  his  or  her
17    residence  to  each  month  that he or she owned and occupied
18    that  residence;  and,  in  the  case  of  rent  constituting
19    property taxes accrued, must shall pro rate each month's rent
20    payments to  the  residence  actually  occupied  during  that
21    month.
22        (f)  There   is   hereby   established   a   program   of
23    pharmaceutical  assistance  to  the  aged  and disabled which
24    shall be administered by the Department  in  accordance  with
25    this Act, to consist of payments to authorized pharmacies, on
26    behalf  of  beneficiaries  of the program, for the reasonable
27    costs of covered prescription drugs.   Each  beneficiary  who
28    pays  $5  for  an identification card shall pay no additional
29    prescription costs.  Each beneficiary who  pays  $25  for  an
30    identification  card  shall  pay  $3  per  prescription.   In
31    addition,  after  a  beneficiary  receives $2,000 in benefits
32    during a State fiscal year, that beneficiary  shall  also  be
33    charged  20%  of  the  cost  of  each  prescription for which
34    payments are made by the program during the remainder of  the
 
                            -4-                LRB9203264TAtm
 1    fiscal  year.   To  become a beneficiary under this program a
 2    person must be: (1) (i)  65  years  or  older,  or  (ii)  the
 3    surviving spouse of such a claimant, who at the time of death
 4    received or was entitled to receive benefits pursuant to this
 5    subsection,  which  surviving  spouse will become 65 years of
 6    age within the 24 months immediately following the  death  of
 7    such  claimant  and which surviving spouse but for his or her
 8    age is otherwise qualified to receive  benefits  pursuant  to
 9    this  subsection,  or (iii) disabled, and (2) is domiciled in
10    this State at the time he files his or her claim, and (3) has
11    a maximum household income of less  than  $14,000  for  grant
12    years  before  the 1998 grant year, less than $16,000 for the
13    1998 and 1999 grant years, and less than (i)  $21,218  for  a
14    household containing one person, (ii) $28,480 for a household
15    containing  2  persons,  or  (iii)  $35,740  for  a household
16    containing 3  more  persons  for  the  2000  grant  year  and
17    thereafter. In addition, each eligible person must (1) obtain
18    an  identification  card from the Department, (2) at the time
19    the card is obtained, sign a statement assigning to the State
20    of Illinois benefits which may be otherwise claimed under any
21    private insurance plans, (3) present the identification  card
22    to the dispensing pharmacist.
23        Whenever  a generic equivalent for a covered prescription
24    drug is available, the Department shall  reimburse  only  for
25    the  reasonable  costs  of  the  generic equivalent, less the
26    co-pay established in this Section, unless  (i)  the  covered
27    prescription drug contains one or more ingredients defined as
28    a  narrow  therapeutic  index drug at 21 CFR 320.33, (ii) the
29    prescriber indicates on the face of the  prescription  "brand
30    medically necessary", and (iii) the prescriber specifies that
31    a  substitution  is  not  permitted.   When  issuing  an oral
32    prescription for covered prescription medication described in
33    item (i) of this paragraph, the  prescriber  shall  stipulate
34    "brand  medically  necessary"  and that a substitution is not
 
                            -5-                LRB9203264TAtm
 1    permitted.   If  the  covered  prescription  drug   and   its
 2    authorizing  prescription  do  not  meet  the criteria listed
 3    above,  the  beneficiary   may   purchase   the   non-generic
 4    equivalent  of  the  covered  prescription drug by paying the
 5    difference between the generic cost and the non-generic  cost
 6    plus the beneficiary co-pay.
 7        Any   person   otherwise   eligible   for  pharmaceutical
 8    assistance under this Act whose covered drugs are covered  by
 9    any  public  program for assistance in purchasing any covered
10    prescription drugs shall be ineligible for  assistance  under
11    this  Act  to the extent such costs are covered by such other
12    plan.
13        The  fee  to  be  charged  by  the  Department  for   the
14    identification  card  shall  be equal to $5 for persons below
15    the official poverty line as defined  by  the  United  States
16    Department of Health and Human Services and $25 for all other
17    persons.
18        In  the event that 2 or more persons are eligible for any
19    benefit  under  this  Act,  and  are  members  of  the   same
20    household,   (1)  each  such  person  shall  be  entitled  to
21    participate  in  the   pharmaceutical   assistance   program,
22    provided  that he or she meets all other requirements imposed
23    by this  subsection  and  (2)  each  participating  household
24    member  contributes  the  fee required for that person by the
25    preceding  paragraph  for  the  purpose   of   obtaining   an
26    identification card.
27    (Source: P.A.  90-650,  eff.  7-27-98;  91-357, eff. 7-29-99;
28    91-699, eff. 1-1-01.)

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