Public Act 094-1043
 
SB2328 Enrolled LRB094 17610 DRJ 52908 b

    AN ACT concerning public aid.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 2. The Department of Human Services Act is amended
by adding Section 10-50 as follows:
 
    (20 ILCS 1305/10-50 new)
    Sec. 10-50. Illinois Steps for Attaining Higher Education
through Academic Development Program established. The Illinois
Steps for Attaining Higher Education through Academic
Development ("Illinois Steps AHEAD") program is established in
the Illinois Department of Human Services. Illinois Steps AHEAD
shall provide educational services and post-secondary
educational scholarships for low-income middle and high school
students. Program components shall include increased parent
involvement, creative and engaging academic support for
students, career exploration programs, college preparation,
and increased collaboration with local schools. The Illinois
Department of Human Services shall administer the program. The
Department shall implement the program only if federal funding
is made available for that purpose. All moneys received
pursuant to the federal Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness
for Undergraduate Programs shall be deposited into the Gaining
Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs Fund,
a special fund hereby created in the State treasury. Moneys in
this fund shall be appropriated to the Department of Human
Services and expended for the purposes and activities specified
by the federal agency making the grant. All interest earnings
on amounts in the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for
Undergraduate Programs Fund shall accrue to the Gaining
Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs Fund and be
used in accordance with 34 C.F.R. 75.703.
 
    Section 3. The State Finance Act is amended by adding
Section 5.663 as follows:
 
    (30 ILCS 105/5.663 new)
    Sec. 5.663. The Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for
Undergraduate Programs Fund.
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Public Aid Code is amended by
changing Section 5-2 and adding Section 12-4.103a as follows:
 
    (305 ILCS 5/5-2)  (from Ch. 23, par. 5-2)
    Sec. 5-2. Classes of Persons Eligible. Medical assistance
under this Article shall be available to any of the following
classes of persons in respect to whom a plan for coverage has
been submitted to the Governor by the Illinois Department and
approved by him:
        1. Recipients of basic maintenance grants under
    Articles III and IV.
        2. Persons otherwise eligible for basic maintenance
    under Articles III and IV but who fail to qualify
    thereunder on the basis of need, and who have insufficient
    income and resources to meet the costs of necessary medical
    care, including but not limited to the following:
            (a) All persons otherwise eligible for basic
        maintenance under Article III but who fail to qualify
        under that Article on the basis of need and who meet
        either of the following requirements:
                (i) their income, as determined by the
            Illinois Department in accordance with any federal
            requirements, is equal to or less than 70% in
            fiscal year 2001, equal to or less than 85% in
            fiscal year 2002 and until a date to be determined
            by the Department by rule, and equal to or less
            than 100% beginning on the date determined by the
            Department by rule, of the nonfarm income official
            poverty line, as defined by the federal Office of
            Management and Budget and revised annually in
            accordance with Section 673(2) of the Omnibus
            Budget Reconciliation Act of 1981, applicable to
            families of the same size; or
                (ii) their income, after the deduction of
            costs incurred for medical care and for other types
            of remedial care, is equal to or less than 70% in
            fiscal year 2001, equal to or less than 85% in
            fiscal year 2002 and until a date to be determined
            by the Department by rule, and equal to or less
            than 100% beginning on the date determined by the
            Department by rule, of the nonfarm income official
            poverty line, as defined in item (i) of this
            subparagraph (a).
            (b) All persons who would be determined eligible
        for such basic maintenance under Article IV by
        disregarding the maximum earned income permitted by
        federal law.
        3. Persons who would otherwise qualify for Aid to the
    Medically Indigent under Article VII.
        4. Persons not eligible under any of the preceding
    paragraphs who fall sick, are injured, or die, not having
    sufficient money, property or other resources to meet the
    costs of necessary medical care or funeral and burial
    expenses.
        5.(a) Women during pregnancy, after the fact of
    pregnancy has been determined by medical diagnosis, and
    during the 60-day period beginning on the last day of the
    pregnancy, together with their infants and children born
    after September 30, 1983, whose income and resources are
    insufficient to meet the costs of necessary medical care to
    the maximum extent possible under Title XIX of the Federal
    Social Security Act.
        (b) The Illinois Department and the Governor shall
    provide a plan for coverage of the persons eligible under
    paragraph 5(a) by April 1, 1990. Such plan shall provide
    ambulatory prenatal care to pregnant women during a
    presumptive eligibility period and establish an income
    eligibility standard that is equal to 133% of the nonfarm
    income official poverty line, as defined by the federal
    Office of Management and Budget and revised annually in
    accordance with Section 673(2) of the Omnibus Budget
    Reconciliation Act of 1981, applicable to families of the
    same size, provided that costs incurred for medical care
    are not taken into account in determining such income
    eligibility.
        (c) The Illinois Department may conduct a
    demonstration in at least one county that will provide
    medical assistance to pregnant women, together with their
    infants and children up to one year of age, where the
    income eligibility standard is set up to 185% of the
    nonfarm income official poverty line, as defined by the
    federal Office of Management and Budget. The Illinois
    Department shall seek and obtain necessary authorization
    provided under federal law to implement such a
    demonstration. Such demonstration may establish resource
    standards that are not more restrictive than those
    established under Article IV of this Code.
        6. Persons under the age of 18 who fail to qualify as
    dependent under Article IV and who have insufficient income
    and resources to meet the costs of necessary medical care
    to the maximum extent permitted under Title XIX of the
    Federal Social Security Act.
        7. Persons who are under 21 years of age and would
    qualify as disabled as defined under the Federal
    Supplemental Security Income Program, provided medical
    service for such persons would be eligible for Federal
    Financial Participation, and provided the Illinois
    Department determines that:
            (a) the person requires a level of care provided by
        a hospital, skilled nursing facility, or intermediate
        care facility, as determined by a physician licensed to
        practice medicine in all its branches;
            (b) it is appropriate to provide such care outside
        of an institution, as determined by a physician
        licensed to practice medicine in all its branches;
            (c) the estimated amount which would be expended
        for care outside the institution is not greater than
        the estimated amount which would be expended in an
        institution.
        8. Persons who become ineligible for basic maintenance
    assistance under Article IV of this Code in programs
    administered by the Illinois Department due to employment
    earnings and persons in assistance units comprised of
    adults and children who become ineligible for basic
    maintenance assistance under Article VI of this Code due to
    employment earnings. The plan for coverage for this class
    of persons shall:
            (a) extend the medical assistance coverage for up
        to 12 months following termination of basic
        maintenance assistance; and
            (b) offer persons who have initially received 6
        months of the coverage provided in paragraph (a) above,
        the option of receiving an additional 6 months of
        coverage, subject to the following:
                (i) such coverage shall be pursuant to
            provisions of the federal Social Security Act;
                (ii) such coverage shall include all services
            covered while the person was eligible for basic
            maintenance assistance;
                (iii) no premium shall be charged for such
            coverage; and
                (iv) such coverage shall be suspended in the
            event of a person's failure without good cause to
            file in a timely fashion reports required for this
            coverage under the Social Security Act and
            coverage shall be reinstated upon the filing of
            such reports if the person remains otherwise
            eligible.
        9. Persons with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
    (AIDS) or with AIDS-related conditions with respect to whom
    there has been a determination that but for home or
    community-based services such individuals would require
    the level of care provided in an inpatient hospital,
    skilled nursing facility or intermediate care facility the
    cost of which is reimbursed under this Article. Assistance
    shall be provided to such persons to the maximum extent
    permitted under Title XIX of the Federal Social Security
    Act.
        10. Participants in the long-term care insurance
    partnership program established under the Partnership for
    Long-Term Care Act who meet the qualifications for
    protection of resources described in Section 25 of that
    Act.
        11. Persons with disabilities who are employed and
    eligible for Medicaid, pursuant to Section
    1902(a)(10)(A)(ii)(xv) of the Social Security Act, as
    provided by the Illinois Department by rule.
        12. Subject to federal approval, persons who are
    eligible for medical assistance coverage under applicable
    provisions of the federal Social Security Act and the
    federal Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and
    Treatment Act of 2000. Those eligible persons are defined
    to include, but not be limited to, the following persons:
            (1) persons who have been screened for breast or
        cervical cancer under the U.S. Centers for Disease
        Control and Prevention Breast and Cervical Cancer
        Program established under Title XV of the federal
        Public Health Services Act in accordance with the
        requirements of Section 1504 of that Act as
        administered by the Illinois Department of Public
        Health; and
            (2) persons whose screenings under the above
        program were funded in whole or in part by funds
        appropriated to the Illinois Department of Public
        Health for breast or cervical cancer screening.
        "Medical assistance" under this paragraph 12 shall be
    identical to the benefits provided under the State's
    approved plan under Title XIX of the Social Security Act.
    The Department must request federal approval of the
    coverage under this paragraph 12 within 30 days after the
    effective date of this amendatory Act of the 92nd General
    Assembly.
        13. Subject to appropriation and to federal approval,
    persons living with HIV/AIDS who are not otherwise eligible
    under this Article and who qualify for services covered
    under Section 5-5.04 as provided by the Illinois Department
    by rule.
        14. Subject to the availability of funds for this
    purpose, the Department may provide coverage under this
    Article to persons who reside in Illinois who are not
    eligible under any of the preceding paragraphs and who meet
    the income guidelines of paragraph 2(a) of this Section and
    (i) have an application for asylum pending before the
    federal Department of Homeland Security or on appeal before
    a court of competent jurisdiction and are represented
    either by counsel or by an advocate accredited by the
    federal Department of Homeland Security and employed by a
    not-for-profit organization in regard to that application
    or appeal, or (ii) are receiving services through a
    federally funded torture treatment center. Medical
    coverage under this paragraph 14 may be provided for up to
    24 continuous months from the initial eligibility date so
    long as an individual continues to satisfy the criteria of
    this paragraph 14. If an individual has an appeal pending
    regarding an application for asylum before the Department
    of Homeland Security, eligibility under this paragraph 14
    may be extended until a final decision is rendered on the
    appeal. The Department may adopt rules governing the
    implementation of this paragraph 14.
    The Illinois Department and the Governor shall provide a
plan for coverage of the persons eligible under paragraph 7 as
soon as possible after July 1, 1984.
    The eligibility of any such person for medical assistance
under this Article is not affected by the payment of any grant
under the Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons Property Tax
Relief and Pharmaceutical Assistance Act or any distributions
or items of income described under subparagraph (X) of
paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of Section 203 of the Illinois
Income Tax Act. The Department shall by rule establish the
amounts of assets to be disregarded in determining eligibility
for medical assistance, which shall at a minimum equal the
amounts to be disregarded under the Federal Supplemental
Security Income Program. The amount of assets of a single
person to be disregarded shall not be less than $2,000, and the
amount of assets of a married couple to be disregarded shall
not be less than $3,000.
    To the extent permitted under federal law, any person found
guilty of a second violation of Article VIIIA shall be
ineligible for medical assistance under this Article, as
provided in Section 8A-8.
    The eligibility of any person for medical assistance under
this Article shall not be affected by the receipt by the person
of donations or benefits from fundraisers held for the person
in cases of serious illness, as long as neither the person nor
members of the person's family have actual control over the
donations or benefits or the disbursement of the donations or
benefits.
(Source: P.A. 93-20, eff. 6-20-03; 94-629, eff. 1-1-06.)
 
    (305 ILCS 5/12-4.103a new)
    Sec. 12-4.103a. Assets for Independence Program.
    (a) Program established. Subject to available funding and
receipt of a federal Assets for Independence grant award, the
Department of Human Services shall establish and administer an
Assets for Independence Program (Program). The Program shall be
established in accordance with the terms of the Assets for
Independence Act (AFIA) as now and hereafter amended (Title IV
Community Opportunities, Accountability, and Training and
Educational Services Act as amended, Public Law 105-285, 42
U.S.C. 604 note).
    (b) Assets for Independence Fund. The Assets for
Independence Fund is established. The Fund shall be held by the
Secretary or his or her designee as ex-officio custodian
thereof separate and apart from all other State funds. The
Assets for Independence Fund is authorized to receive grants
under AFIA, State moneys appropriated for the Program, and
moneys from voluntary donations from individuals, foundations,
corporations, and other sources. Moneys in the Assets for
Independence Fund shall not be commingled with other State
funds, but they shall be deposited as required by law and
maintained in a separate account on the books of a savings and
loan association, bank, or other qualified financial
institution. All interest earnings on amounts within the Assets
for Independence Fund shall accrue to the Assets for
Independence Fund and shall be used in accordance with the
terms of the AFIA. Administrative expenses related to the
Program, including the provision of financial education to
Program participants, shall be paid from the Assets for
Independence Fund in accordance with the terms of AFIA Section
707(c)(3).
    (c) Program purpose. The purpose of the Program is to allow
eligible low-income Illinois citizens, subject to the
availability of State and federal funds and authorization from
the Department, to open and maintain an Individual Development
Account (IDA) at a federally insured financial institution.
Deposits into an IDA that are used for subsequent qualified
purchases shall be matched dollar-for-dollar by moneys from the
Assets for Independence Fund. Not more than $2,000 of moneys
from the Assets for Independence Fund shall be provided to any
one individual. Not more than $4,000 of moneys from the Assets
for Independence Fund shall be provided to any one household.
Assets for Independence Fund moneys not being used to
administer the Program shall be used only for qualified
purchases, shall be distributed only directly to the vendor of
a qualified purchase, and shall require the authorization by
signature of the Department's chief financial officer.
    (d) Contributions to IDA and use of moneys. An individual
may make contributions to his or her IDA only from earned
income as defined in Section 911(d)(2) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986. The moneys deposited into an IDA shall not be
commingled with any Assets for Independence Fund moneys. An IDA
holder shall have a 36-month period, beginning on the date the
Department authorizes the holder to open the IDA, within which
to make a qualified purchase. If a qualified purchase is not
made within that 36-month period, Assets for Independence Fund
moneys earmarked for that individual shall be released, and the
Department shall authorize another eligible person to open an
IDA. Under no circumstances, and at no time, shall an IDA
holder lose the ability to withdraw moneys from his or her IDA.
    (e) Qualified purchases. A qualified asset purchase using
moneys from an IDA shall be defined in accordance with AFIA
Section 404(8) and shall be one or more of the following:
        (1) Payment of post-secondary education expenses, if
    the expenses are paid directly to an eligible educational
    institution.
        (2) Acquisition of a principal residence, if the
    individual is buying a home for the first time and if the
    funds are paid directly to the person to whom the amounts
    required for the purchase are due.
        (3) Financing of business capitalization expenses, if
    the funds are paid directly into a business capitalization
    account at a federally insured financial institution and
    are restricted to use solely for qualified business
    capitalization expenses.
    (f) Program eligibility. Program eligibility shall be
established by the Department in accordance with AFIA Section
408. Persons eligible to open an IDA and to receive Assets for
Independence Fund moneys are Illinois citizens currently
residing in Illinois who are (i) able to demonstrate that they
are currently eligible for assistance under the State's
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program or (ii) able to
demonstrate that the adjusted gross income of their household
in the calendar year preceding the determination of eligibility
was equal to or less than 200% of the poverty line, as
determined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget. An
individual must further demonstrate that the net worth of his
or her household, as of the end of the calendar year preceding
the determination of eligibility, does not exceed $10,000, as
determined by AFIA Section 408(2)(B). Notwithstanding any
other provision of State law, moneys in an Individual
Development Account, including accrued interest and matching
deposits, shall be disregarded for the purpose of determining
the eligibility and benefit levels under this Code in the case
of the individual establishing the IDA with respect to any
period during which the individual maintains or makes
contributions into the IDA. The Department shall approve an
individual to open an IDA at a federally insured financial
institution upon determining, based on the individual's
application, that all eligibility criteria are met and subject
to the availability of $2,000 in Assets for Independence Fund
moneys.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.