093_HB0784enr HB0784 Enrolled LRB093 05320 DRJ 05410 b 1 AN ACT concerning assistance to citizens. 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 HB0784 Enrolled -2- LRB093 05320 DRJ 05410 b 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 HB0784 Enrolled -3- LRB093 05320 DRJ 05410 b 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 shall prorate 1/12 16 of the total property taxes accrued on his or her residence 17 to each month that he or she owned and occupied that 18 residence; and, in the case of rent constituting property 19 taxes accrued, shall prorate each month's rent payments to 20 the residence actually occupied 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 HB0784 Enrolled -4- LRB093 05320 DRJ 05410 b 1 person must: (1) be (i) 65 years of age 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) be domiciled in 9 this State at the time he or she files his or her claim, and 10 (3) have a maximum household income of less than $14,000 for 11 grant years before the 1998 grant year, less than $16,000 for 12 the 1998 and 1999 grant years, and less than (i) $21,218 for 13 a household containing one person, (ii) $28,480 for a 14 household containing 2 persons, or (iii) $35,740 for a 15 household containing 3 more persons for the 2000 grant year 16 and thereafter. In addition, each eligible person must (1) 17 obtain an identification card from the Department, (2) at the 18 time the card is obtained, sign a statement assigning to the 19 State of Illinois benefits which may be otherwise claimed 20 under any private insurance plans, and (3) present the 21 identification card to the dispensing pharmacist. 22 The Department may adopt rules specifying participation 23 requirements for the pharmaceutical assistance program, 24 including copayment amounts, identification card fees, 25 expenditure limits, and the benefit threshold after which a 26 20% charge is imposed on the cost of each prescription, to be 27 in effect on and after July 1, 2004. Notwithstanding any 28 other provision of this paragraph, however, the Department 29 may not increase the identification card fee above the amount 30 in effect on May 1, 2003 without the express consent of the 31 General Assembly. To the extent practicable, those 32 requirements shall be commensurate with the requirements 33 provided in rules adopted by the Department of Public Aid to 34 implement the pharmacy assistance program under Section HB0784 Enrolled -5- LRB093 05320 DRJ 05410 b 1 5-5.12a of the Illinois Public Aid Code. 2 Whenever a generic equivalent for a covered prescription 3 drug is available, the Department shall reimburse only for 4 the reasonable costs of the generic equivalent, less the 5 co-pay established in this Section, unless (i) the covered 6 prescription drug contains one or more ingredients defined as 7 a narrow therapeutic index drug at 21 CFR 320.33, (ii) the 8 prescriber indicates on the face of the prescription "brand 9 medically necessary", and (iii) the prescriber specifies that 10 a substitution is not permitted. When issuing an oral 11 prescription for covered prescription medication described in 12 item (i) of this paragraph, the prescriber shall stipulate 13 "brand medically necessary" and that a substitution is not 14 permitted. If the covered prescription drug and its 15 authorizing prescription do not meet the criteria listed 16 above, the beneficiary may purchase the non-generic 17 equivalent of the covered prescription drug by paying the 18 difference between the generic cost and the non-generic cost 19 plus the beneficiary co-pay. 20 Any person otherwise eligible for pharmaceutical 21 assistance under this Act whose covered drugs are covered by 22 any public program for assistance in purchasing any covered 23 prescription drugs shall be ineligible for assistance under 24 this Act to the extent such costs are covered by such other 25 plan. 26 The fee to be charged by the Department for the 27 identification card shall be equal to $5 per coverage year 28 for persons below the official poverty line as defined by the 29 United States Department of Health and Human Services and $25 30 per coverage year for all other persons. 31 In the event that 2 or more persons are eligible for any 32 benefit under this Act, and are members of the same 33 household, (1) each such person shall be entitled to 34 participate in the pharmaceutical assistance program, HB0784 Enrolled -6- LRB093 05320 DRJ 05410 b 1 provided that he or she meets all other requirements imposed 2 by this subsection and (2) each participating household 3 member contributes the fee required for that person by the 4 preceding paragraph for the purpose of obtaining an 5 identification card. 6 (Source: P.A. 91-357, eff. 7-29-99; 91-699, eff. 1-1-01; 7 92-131, eff. 7-23-01; 92-519, eff. 1-1-02; 92-651, eff. 8 7-11-02.) 9 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 10 becoming law.