Public Act 096-0100
 
SB1837 Enrolled LRB096 07696 JAM 17797 b

    AN ACT concerning State government.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Department of Veterans Affairs Act is
amended by changing Section 2.03 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 2805/2.03)  (from Ch. 126 1/2, par. 67.03)
    Sec. 2.03. Admissions. Admissions to an Illinois Veterans
Home are subject to the rules and regulations adopted by the
Department of Veterans' Affairs to govern the admission of
applicants.
    Each resident of a Home is liable for the payment of sums
representing maintenance charges for care at the Home at a rate
to be determined by the Department, based on the resident's
ability to pay. However, the charges shall not exceed the
average annual per capita cost of maintaining the resident in
the Home. The Department, upon being furnished proof of
payment, shall in its discretion make allowances for unusual
expenses in determining the ability of the resident to pay
maintenance charges.
    Payment of maintenance charges shall be made first and to
the fullest extent possible from sources of income other than
pension or compensation paid by the U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs.
    The basis upon which the payment of maintenance charges
shall be calculated by the Department is the average per capita
cost for the care of all residents at each Home for the fiscal
year immediately preceding the period for which the rate for
each Home is being calculated.
    The Department may require residents to pay charges
monthly, quarterly, or otherwise as may be most suitably
arranged for the individual members. The amounts received from
each Home for the charges shall be transmitted to the Treasurer
of the State of Illinois for deposit in each Veterans Home
Fund, respectively.
    The Department may investigate the financial condition of
residents of a Home to determine their ability to pay
maintenance charges and to establish standards as a basis of
judgment for such determination. Such standards shall be
recomputed periodically to reflect changes in the cost of
living and other pertinent factors.
    Refusal to pay the maintenance charges is cause for
discharge of a resident from a Home.
    The Department may collect any medical or health benefits
to which a resident may become entitled through tax supported
or privately financed systems of insurance, as a result of his
or her care or treatment in the facilities provided by the
Department, or because of care or treatment in other facilities
when such care or treatment has been paid for by the
Department.
    Admission of a resident is not limited or conditioned in
any manner by the financial status of the resident or his or
her ability to pay maintenance charges.
    The Department may accept and hold on behalf of the State,
if for the public interest, a grant, gift, devise, or bequest
of money or property to the Department made in trust for the
maintenance or support of a resident of an Illinois Veterans
Home or for any other legitimate purpose. The Department shall
cause each gift, grant, devise, or bequest to be kept as a
distinct fund and shall invest the same in the manner provided
by the laws of this State relating to securities in which the
deposit in savings banks may be invested. However, the
Department may, at its discretion, deposit in a proper trust
company, bank, or savings bank, during the continuance of the
trust, any fund left in trust for the life of a person and
shall adopt rules and regulations governing the deposit,
transfer, or withdrawal of the fund. The Department shall, on
the expiration of any trust as provided in any instrument
creating the trust, dispose of the fund in the manner provided
in the instrument. The Department shall include in its required
reports a statement showing what funds are so held by it and
the condition of the funds; provided that monies found on
residents at the time of their admission or accruing to them
during their residence at a Home and monies deposited with the
administrators by relatives, guardians, or friends of
residents for the special comfort and pleasure of the resident
shall remain in the custody of the administrators who shall act
as trustees for disbursement to, on behalf of, or for the
benefit of the resident. All types of retirement and pension
benefits from private and public sources may be paid directly
to the administrator of a Home for deposit to the resident
trust fund account.
(Source: P.A. 89-324, eff. 8-13-95; 90-168, eff. 7-23-97.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2010