Public Act 93-0130

HB0784 Enrolled                      LRB093 05320 DRJ 05410 b

    AN ACT concerning assistance to citizens.

    Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:

    Section  5.  The  Senior  Citizens  and  Disabled Persons
Property Tax Relief  and  Pharmaceutical  Assistance  Act  is
amended by changing Section 4 as follows:

    (320 ILCS 25/4) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 404)
    Sec. 4.  Amount of Grant.
    (a)  In general.  Any individual 65 years or older or any
individual  who  will become 65 years old during the calendar
year in which a claim is filed, and any surviving  spouse  of
such  a  claimant,  who  at the time of death received or was
entitled to receive a grant pursuant to this  Section,  which
surviving  spouse  will  become 65 years of age within the 24
months immediately following the death of such  claimant  and
which  surviving  spouse  but for his or her age is otherwise
qualified to receive a grant pursuant to  this  Section,  and
any  disabled  person  whose  annual household income is less
than $14,000 for grant years before the 1998 grant year, less
than $16,000 for the 1998 and 1999 grant years, and less than
(i) $21,218 for  a  household  containing  one  person,  (ii)
$28,480  for  a  household  containing  2  persons,  or (iii)
$35,740 for a household containing 3 or more persons for  the
2000  grant year and thereafter and whose household is liable
for payment of  property  taxes  accrued  or  has  paid  rent
constituting  property taxes accrued and is domiciled in this
State at the time he  or  she  files  his  or  her  claim  is
entitled  to  claim  a  grant under this Act. With respect to
claims filed by individuals who  will  become  65  years  old
during  the  calendar  year  in  which  a claim is filed, the
amount of any grant to which that household is entitled shall
be an amount equal  to  1/12  of  the  amount  to  which  the
claimant  would  otherwise  be  entitled  as provided in this
Section, multiplied by the number  of  months  in  which  the
claimant  was  65  in the calendar year in which the claim is
filed.
    (b)  Limitation.   Except  as   otherwise   provided   in
subsections  (a)  and (f) of this Section, the maximum amount
of grant which a claimant is entitled to claim is the  amount
by  which  the  property  taxes  accrued  which  were paid or
payable  during  the  last  preceding  tax   year   or   rent
constituting  property  taxes  accrued  upon  the  claimant's
residence  for the last preceding taxable year exceeds 3 1/2%
of the claimant's household income for that year  but  in  no
event  is the grant to exceed (i) $700 less 4.5% of household
income for that year for those with  a  household  income  of
$14,000 or less or (ii) $70 if household income for that year
is more than $14,000.
    (c)  Public  aid  recipients.  If household income in one
or more months during a  year  includes  cash  assistance  in
excess  of $55 per month from the Department of Public Aid or
the Department of Human Services (acting as successor to  the
Department  of  Public  Aid  under  the  Department  of Human
Services Act) which was determined under regulations of  that
Department  on  a  measure of need that included an allowance
for actual rent or property taxes paid by  the  recipient  of
that  assistance, the amount of grant to which that household
is entitled, except as otherwise provided in subsection  (a),
shall  be  the  product of (1) the maximum amount computed as
specified in subsection (b) of this Section and (2) the ratio
of the number of months in which  household  income  did  not
include  such  cash assistance over $55 to the number twelve.
If household income did not include such cash assistance over
$55 for any months during the year, the amount of  the  grant
to  which  the  household  is  entitled  shall be the maximum
amount computed  as  specified  in  subsection  (b)  of  this
Section.    For   purposes   of  this  paragraph  (c),  "cash
assistance" does not include any amount  received  under  the
federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
    (d)  Joint  ownership.  If title to the residence is held
jointly by the claimant with a person who is not a member  of
his  or  her  household, the amount of property taxes accrued
used in computing the amount of grant to which he or  she  is
entitled  shall  be  the  same  percentage  of property taxes
accrued as  is  the  percentage  of  ownership  held  by  the
claimant in the residence.
    (e)  More than one residence.  If a claimant has occupied
more  than  one  residence in the taxable year, he or she may
claim only one residence for any part of  a  month.   In  the
case  of property taxes accrued, he or she shall prorate 1/12
of the total property taxes accrued on his or  her  residence
to  each  month  that  he  or  she  owned  and  occupied that
residence; and, in the case  of  rent  constituting  property
taxes  accrued,  shall  prorate each month's rent payments to
the residence actually occupied during that month.
    (f)  There   is   hereby   established   a   program   of
pharmaceutical assistance to  the  aged  and  disabled  which
shall  be  administered  by the Department in accordance with
this Act, to consist of payments to authorized pharmacies, on
behalf of beneficiaries of the program,  for  the  reasonable
costs  of  covered  prescription drugs.  Each beneficiary who
pays $5 for an identification card shall  pay  no  additional
prescription  costs.   Each  beneficiary  who pays $25 for an
identification  card  shall  pay  $3  per  prescription.   In
addition, after a beneficiary  receives  $2,000  in  benefits
during  a  State  fiscal year, that beneficiary shall also be
charged 20% of  the  cost  of  each  prescription  for  which
payments  are made by the program during the remainder of the
fiscal year.  To become a beneficiary under  this  program  a
person must: (1) be (i) 65 years of age or older, or (ii) the
surviving spouse of such a claimant, who at the time of death
received or was entitled to receive benefits pursuant to this
subsection,  which  surviving  spouse will become 65 years of
age within the 24 months immediately following the  death  of
such  claimant  and which surviving spouse but for his or her
age is otherwise qualified to receive  benefits  pursuant  to
this  subsection,  or (iii) disabled, and (2) be domiciled in
this State at the time he or she files his or her claim,  and
(3)  have a maximum household income of less than $14,000 for
grant years before the 1998 grant year, less than $16,000 for
the 1998 and 1999 grant years, and less than (i) $21,218  for
a  household  containing  one  person,  (ii)  $28,480  for  a
household  containing  2  persons,  or  (iii)  $35,740  for a
household containing 3 more persons for the 2000  grant  year
and  thereafter.   In addition, each eligible person must (1)
obtain an identification card from the Department, (2) at the
time the card is obtained, sign a statement assigning to  the
State  of  Illinois  benefits  which may be otherwise claimed
under any  private  insurance  plans,  and  (3)  present  the
identification card to the dispensing pharmacist.
    The  Department  may adopt rules specifying participation
requirements  for  the  pharmaceutical  assistance   program,
including   copayment   amounts,  identification  card  fees,
expenditure limits, and the benefit threshold after  which  a
20% charge is imposed on the cost of each prescription, to be
in  effect  on  and  after  July 1, 2004. Notwithstanding any
other provision of this paragraph,  however,  the  Department
may not increase the identification card fee above the amount
in  effect  on May 1, 2003 without the express consent of the
General  Assembly.   To   the   extent   practicable,   those
requirements  shall  be  commensurate  with  the requirements
provided in rules adopted by the Department of Public Aid  to
implement  the  pharmacy  assistance  program  under  Section
5-5.12a of the Illinois Public Aid Code.
    Whenever  a generic equivalent for a covered prescription
drug is available, the Department shall  reimburse  only  for
the  reasonable  costs  of  the  generic equivalent, less the
co-pay established in this Section, unless  (i)  the  covered
prescription drug contains one or more ingredients defined as
a  narrow  therapeutic  index drug at 21 CFR 320.33, (ii) the
prescriber indicates on the face of the  prescription  "brand
medically necessary", and (iii) the prescriber specifies that
a  substitution  is  not  permitted.   When  issuing  an oral
prescription for covered prescription medication described in
item (i) of this paragraph, the  prescriber  shall  stipulate
"brand  medically  necessary"  and that a substitution is not
permitted.   If  the  covered  prescription  drug   and   its
authorizing  prescription  do  not  meet  the criteria listed
above,  the  beneficiary   may   purchase   the   non-generic
equivalent  of  the  covered  prescription drug by paying the
difference between the generic cost and the non-generic  cost
plus the beneficiary co-pay.
    Any   person   otherwise   eligible   for  pharmaceutical
assistance under this Act whose covered drugs are covered  by
any  public  program for assistance in purchasing any covered
prescription drugs shall be ineligible for  assistance  under
this  Act  to the extent such costs are covered by such other
plan.
    The  fee  to  be  charged  by  the  Department  for   the
identification  card  shall  be equal to $5 per coverage year
for persons below the official poverty line as defined by the
United States Department of Health and Human Services and $25
per coverage year for all other persons.
    In the event that 2 or more persons are eligible for  any
benefit   under  this  Act,  and  are  members  of  the  same
household,  (1)  each  such  person  shall  be  entitled   to
participate   in   the   pharmaceutical  assistance  program,
provided that he or she meets all other requirements  imposed
by  this  subsection  and  (2)  each  participating household
member contributes the fee required for that  person  by  the
preceding   paragraph   for   the  purpose  of  obtaining  an
identification card.
(Source: P.A. 91-357,  eff.  7-29-99;  91-699,  eff.  1-1-01;
92-131,  eff.  7-23-01;  92-519,  eff.  1-1-02;  92-651, eff.
7-11-02.)

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