093_HB0784sam002

 










                                     LRB093 05320 DRJ 16055 a

 1                     AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 784

 2        AMENDMENT NO.     .  Amend House Bill  784  by  replacing
 3    everything after the enacting clause with the following:

 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)
 
                            -2-      LRB093 05320 DRJ 16055 a
 1    $35,740 for a household containing 3 or more persons for  the
 2    2000  grant year and thereafter and whose household is liable
 3    for payment of  property  taxes  accrued  or  has  paid  rent
 4    constituting  property taxes accrued and is domiciled in this
 5    State at the time he  or  she  files  his  or  her  claim  is
 6    entitled  to  claim  a  grant under this Act. With respect to
 7    claims filed by individuals who  will  become  65  years  old
 8    during  the  calendar  year  in  which  a claim is filed, the
 9    amount of any grant to which that household is entitled shall
10    be an amount equal  to  1/12  of  the  amount  to  which  the
11    claimant  would  otherwise  be  entitled  as provided in this
12    Section, multiplied by the number  of  months  in  which  the
13    claimant  was  65  in the calendar year in which the claim is
14    filed.
15        (b)  Limitation.   Except  as   otherwise   provided   in
16    subsections  (a)  and (f) of this Section, the maximum amount
17    of grant which a claimant is entitled to claim is the  amount
18    by  which  the  property  taxes  accrued  which  were paid or
19    payable  during  the  last  preceding  tax   year   or   rent
20    constituting  property  taxes  accrued  upon  the  claimant's
21    residence  for the last preceding taxable year exceeds 3 1/2%
22    of the claimant's household income for that year  but  in  no
23    event  is the grant to exceed (i) $700 less 4.5% of household
24    income for that year for those with  a  household  income  of
25    $14,000 or less or (ii) $70 if household income for that year
26    is more than $14,000.
27        (c)  Public  aid  recipients.  If household income in one
28    or more months during a  year  includes  cash  assistance  in
29    excess  of $55 per month from the Department of Public Aid or
30    the Department of Human Services (acting as successor to  the
31    Department  of  Public  Aid  under  the  Department  of Human
32    Services Act) which was determined under regulations of  that
33    Department  on  a  measure of need that included an allowance
34    for actual rent or property taxes paid by  the  recipient  of
 
                            -3-      LRB093 05320 DRJ 16055 a
 1    that  assistance, the amount of grant to which that household
 2    is entitled, except as otherwise provided in subsection  (a),
 3    shall  be  the  product of (1) the maximum amount computed as
 4    specified in subsection (b) of this Section and (2) the ratio
 5    of the number of months in which  household  income  did  not
 6    include  such  cash assistance over $55 to the number twelve.
 7    If household income did not include such cash assistance over
 8    $55 for any months during the year, the amount of  the  grant
 9    to  which  the  household  is  entitled  shall be the maximum
10    amount computed  as  specified  in  subsection  (b)  of  this
11    Section.    For   purposes   of  this  paragraph  (c),  "cash
12    assistance" does not include any amount  received  under  the
13    federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
14        (d)  Joint  ownership.  If title to the residence is held
15    jointly by the claimant with a person who is not a member  of
16    his  or  her  household, the amount of property taxes accrued
17    used in computing the amount of grant to which he or  she  is
18    entitled  shall  be  the  same  percentage  of property taxes
19    accrued as  is  the  percentage  of  ownership  held  by  the
20    claimant in the residence.
21        (e)  More than one residence.  If a claimant has occupied
22    more  than  one  residence in the taxable year, he or she may
23    claim only one residence for any part of  a  month.   In  the
24    case  of property taxes accrued, he or she shall prorate 1/12
25    of the total property taxes accrued on his or  her  residence
26    to  each  month  that  he  or  she  owned  and  occupied that
27    residence; and, in the case  of  rent  constituting  property
28    taxes  accrued,  shall  prorate each month's rent payments to
29    the residence actually occupied during that month.
30        (f)  There   is   hereby   established   a   program   of
31    pharmaceutical assistance to  the  aged  and  disabled  which
32    shall  be  administered  by the Department in accordance with
33    this Act, to consist of payments to authorized pharmacies, on
34    behalf of beneficiaries of the program,  for  the  reasonable
 
                            -4-      LRB093 05320 DRJ 16055 a
 1    costs  of  covered  prescription drugs.  Each beneficiary who
 2    pays $5 for an identification card shall  pay  no  additional
 3    prescription  costs.   Each  beneficiary  who pays $25 for an
 4    identification  card  shall  pay  $3  per  prescription.   In
 5    addition, after a beneficiary  receives  $2,000  in  benefits
 6    during  a  State  fiscal year, that beneficiary shall also be
 7    charged 20% of  the  cost  of  each  prescription  for  which
 8    payments  are made by the program during the remainder of the
 9    fiscal year.  To become a beneficiary under  this  program  a
10    person must: (1) be (i) 65 years of age or older, or (ii) the
11    surviving spouse of such a claimant, who at the time of death
12    received or was entitled to receive benefits pursuant to this
13    subsection,  which  surviving  spouse will become 65 years of
14    age within the 24 months immediately following the  death  of
15    such  claimant  and which surviving spouse but for his or her
16    age is otherwise qualified to receive  benefits  pursuant  to
17    this  subsection,  or (iii) disabled, and (2) be domiciled in
18    this State at the time he or she files his or her claim,  and
19    (3)  have a maximum household income of less than $14,000 for
20    grant years before the 1998 grant year, less than $16,000 for
21    the 1998 and 1999 grant years, and less than (i) $21,218  for
22    a  household  containing  one  person,  (ii)  $28,480  for  a
23    household  containing  2  persons,  or  (iii)  $35,740  for a
24    household containing 3 more persons for the 2000  grant  year
25    and  thereafter.   In addition, each eligible person must (1)
26    obtain an identification card from the Department, (2) at the
27    time the card is obtained, sign a statement assigning to  the
28    State  of  Illinois  benefits  which may be otherwise claimed
29    under any  private  insurance  plans,  and  (3)  present  the
30    identification card to the dispensing pharmacist.
31        The  Department  may adopt rules specifying participation
32    requirements  for  the  pharmaceutical  assistance   program,
33    including   copayment   amounts,  identification  card  fees,
34    expenditure limits, and the benefit threshold after  which  a
 
                            -5-      LRB093 05320 DRJ 16055 a
 1    20% charge is imposed on the cost of each prescription, to be
 2    in  effect  on  and  after  July 1, 2004. Notwithstanding any
 3    other provision of this paragraph,  however,  the  Department
 4    may not increase the identification card fee above the amount
 5    in  effect  on May 1, 2003 without the express consent of the
 6    General  Assembly.   To   the   extent   practicable,   those
 7    requirements  shall  be  commensurate  with  the requirements
 8    provided in rules adopted by the Department of Public Aid  to
 9    implement  the  pharmacy  assistance  program  under  Section
10    5-5.12a of the Illinois Public Aid Code.
11        Whenever  a generic equivalent for a covered prescription
12    drug is available, the Department shall  reimburse  only  for
13    the  reasonable  costs  of  the  generic equivalent, less the
14    co-pay established in this Section, unless  (i)  the  covered
15    prescription drug contains one or more ingredients defined as
16    a  narrow  therapeutic  index drug at 21 CFR 320.33, (ii) the
17    prescriber indicates on the face of the  prescription  "brand
18    medically necessary", and (iii) the prescriber specifies that
19    a  substitution  is  not  permitted.   When  issuing  an oral
20    prescription for covered prescription medication described in
21    item (i) of this paragraph, the  prescriber  shall  stipulate
22    "brand  medically  necessary"  and that a substitution is not
23    permitted.   If  the  covered  prescription  drug   and   its
24    authorizing  prescription  do  not  meet  the criteria listed
25    above,  the  beneficiary   may   purchase   the   non-generic
26    equivalent  of  the  covered  prescription drug by paying the
27    difference between the generic cost and the non-generic  cost
28    plus the beneficiary co-pay.
29        Any   person   otherwise   eligible   for  pharmaceutical
30    assistance under this Act whose covered drugs are covered  by
31    any  public  program for assistance in purchasing any covered
32    prescription drugs shall be ineligible for  assistance  under
33    this  Act  to the extent such costs are covered by such other
34    plan.
 
                            -6-      LRB093 05320 DRJ 16055 a
 1        The  fee  to  be  charged  by  the  Department  for   the
 2    identification  card  shall  be equal to $5 per coverage year
 3    for persons below the official poverty line as defined by the
 4    United States Department of Health and Human Services and $25
 5    per coverage year for all other persons.
 6        In the event that 2 or more persons are eligible for  any
 7    benefit   under  this  Act,  and  are  members  of  the  same
 8    household,  (1)  each  such  person  shall  be  entitled   to
 9    participate   in   the   pharmaceutical  assistance  program,
10    provided that he or she meets all other requirements  imposed
11    by  this  subsection  and  (2)  each  participating household
12    member contributes the fee required for that  person  by  the
13    preceding   paragraph   for   the  purpose  of  obtaining  an
14    identification card.
15    (Source: P.A. 91-357,  eff.  7-29-99;  91-699,  eff.  1-1-01;
16    92-131,  eff.  7-23-01;  92-519,  eff.  1-1-02;  92-651, eff.
17    7-11-02.)

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