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91_HB4729
LRB9114455SMdv
1 AN ACT to amend the Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons
2 Property Tax Relief and Pharmaceutical Assistance Act by
3 changing Sections 3.15 and 4.
4 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
5 represented in the General Assembly:
6 Section 5. The Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons
7 Property Tax Relief and Pharmaceutical Assistance Act is
8 amended by changing Sections 3.15 and 4 as follows:
9 (320 ILCS 25/3.15) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 403.15)
10 Sec. 3.15. "Covered prescription drug" means (1) any
11 cardiovascular agent or drug; (2) any insulin or other
12 prescription drug used in the treatment of diabetes,
13 including syringe and needles used to administer the insulin;
14 (3) any prescription drug used in the treatment of arthritis,
15 (4) beginning on January 1, 2001, any prescription drug used
16 in the treatment of cancer, (5) beginning on January 1, 2001,
17 any prescription drug used in the treatment of Alzheimer's
18 disease, (6) beginning on January 1, 2001, any prescription
19 drug used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease, (7)
20 beginning on January 1, 2001, any prescription drug used in
21 the treatment of glaucoma, and (8) beginning on January 1,
22 2001, any prescription drug used in the treatment of lung
23 disease and smoking related illnesses, and (9) beginning on
24 January 1, 2001, any prescription drug used in the treatment
25 of osteoporosis. The specific agents or products to be
26 included under such categories shall be listed in a handbook
27 to be prepared and distributed by the Department. The
28 general types of covered prescription drugs shall be
29 indicated by rule. The Department of Public Health shall
30 promulgate a list of covered prescription drugs under this
31 program that meet the definition of a narrow therapeutic
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1 index drug as described in subsection (f) of Section 4.
2 (Source: P.A. 91-699, eff. 1-1-01.)
3 (320 ILCS 25/4) (from Ch. 67 1/2, par. 404)
4 Sec. 4. Amount of Grant.
5 (a) In general. Any individual 65 years or older or any
6 individual who will become 65 years old during the calendar
7 year in which a claim is filed, and any surviving spouse of
8 such a claimant, who at the time of death received or was
9 entitled to receive a grant pursuant to this Section, which
10 surviving spouse will become 65 years of age within the 24
11 months immediately following the death of such claimant and
12 which surviving spouse but for his or her age is otherwise
13 qualified to receive a grant pursuant to this Section, and
14 any disabled person whose annual household income is less
15 than $14,000 for grant years before the 1998 grant year, less
16 than $16,000 for the 1998 and 1999 grant years, and less than
17 (i) $28,000 $21,218 for a household containing one person,
18 (ii) $35,000 $28,480 for a household containing 2 persons, or
19 (iii) $42,000 $35,740 for a household containing 3 or more
20 persons for the 2000 grant year and thereafter and whose
21 household is liable for payment of property taxes accrued or
22 has paid rent constituting property taxes accrued and is
23 domiciled in this State at the time he files his claim is
24 entitled to claim a grant under this Act. With respect to
25 claims filed by individuals who will become 65 years old
26 during the calendar year in which a claim is filed, the
27 amount of any grant to which that household is entitled shall
28 be an amount equal to 1/12 of the amount to which the
29 claimant would otherwise be entitled as provided in this
30 Section, multiplied by the number of months in which the
31 claimant was 65 in the calendar year in which the claim is
32 filed.
33 (b) Limitation. Except as otherwise provided in
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1 subsections (a) and (f) of this Section, the maximum amount
2 of grant which a claimant is entitled to claim is the amount
3 by which the property taxes accrued which were paid or
4 payable during the last preceding tax year or rent
5 constituting property taxes accrued upon the claimant's
6 residence for the last preceding taxable year exceeds 3 1/2%
7 of the claimant's household income for that year but in no
8 event is the grant to exceed (i) $700 less 4.5% of household
9 income for that year for those with a household income of
10 $14,000 or less or (ii) $70 if household income for that year
11 is more than $14,000.
12 (c) Public aid recipients. If household income in one
13 or more months during a year includes cash assistance in
14 excess of $55 per month from the Department of Public Aid or
15 the Department of Human Services (acting as successor to the
16 Department of Public Aid under the Department of Human
17 Services Act) which was determined under regulations of that
18 Department on a measure of need that included an allowance
19 for actual rent or property taxes paid by the recipient of
20 that assistance, the amount of grant to which that household
21 is entitled, except as otherwise provided in subsection (a),
22 shall be the product of (1) the maximum amount computed as
23 specified in subsection (b) of this Section and (2) the ratio
24 of the number of months in which household income did not
25 include such cash assistance over $55 to the number twelve.
26 If household income did not include such cash assistance over
27 $55 for any months during the year, the amount of the grant
28 to which the household is entitled shall be the maximum
29 amount computed as specified in subsection (b) of this
30 Section. For purposes of this paragraph (c), "cash
31 assistance" does not include any amount received under the
32 federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
33 (d) Joint ownership. If title to the residence is held
34 jointly by the claimant with a person who is not a member of
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1 his household, the amount of property taxes accrued used in
2 computing the amount of grant to which he is entitled shall
3 be the same percentage of property taxes accrued as is the
4 percentage of ownership held by the claimant in the
5 residence.
6 (e) More than one residence. If a claimant has occupied
7 more than one residence in the taxable year, he may claim
8 only one residence for any part of a month. In the case of
9 property taxes accrued, he shall pro rate 1/12 of the total
10 property taxes accrued on his residence to each month that he
11 owned and occupied that residence; and, in the case of rent
12 constituting property taxes accrued, shall pro rate each
13 month's rent payments to the residence actually occupied
14 during that month.
15 (f) There is hereby established a program of
16 pharmaceutical assistance to the aged and disabled which
17 shall be administered by the Department in accordance with
18 this Act, to consist of payments to authorized pharmacies, on
19 behalf of beneficiaries of the program, for the reasonable
20 costs of covered prescription drugs. Each beneficiary who
21 pays $5 for an identification card shall pay no additional
22 prescription costs. Each beneficiary who pays $25 for an
23 identification card shall pay $3 per prescription. In
24 addition, after a beneficiary receives $2,000 in benefits
25 during a State fiscal year, that beneficiary shall also be
26 charged 20% of the cost of each prescription for which
27 payments are made by the program during the remainder of the
28 fiscal year. To become a beneficiary under this program a
29 person must be: (1) (i) 65 years or older, or (ii) the
30 surviving spouse of such a claimant, who at the time of death
31 received or was entitled to receive benefits pursuant to this
32 subsection, which surviving spouse will become 65 years of
33 age within the 24 months immediately following the death of
34 such claimant and which surviving spouse but for his or her
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1 age is otherwise qualified to receive benefits pursuant to
2 this subsection, or (iii) disabled, and (2) is domiciled in
3 this State at the time he files his or her claim, and (3) has
4 a maximum household income of less than $14,000 for grant
5 years before the 1998 grant year, less than $16,000 for the
6 1998 and 1999 grant years, and less than (i) $21,218 for a
7 household containing one person, (ii) $28,480 for a household
8 containing 2 persons, or (iii) $35,740 for a household
9 containing 3 more persons for the 2000 grant year and
10 thereafter. In addition, each eligible person must (1) obtain
11 an identification card from the Department, (2) at the time
12 the card is obtained, sign a statement assigning to the State
13 of Illinois benefits which may be otherwise claimed under any
14 private insurance plans, (3) present the identification card
15 to the dispensing pharmacist.
16 Whenever a generic equivalent for a covered prescription
17 drug is available, the Department shall reimburse only for
18 the reasonable costs of the generic equivalent, less the
19 co-pay established in this Section, unless (i) the covered
20 prescription drug contains one or more ingredients defined as
21 a narrow therapeutic index drug at 21 CFR 320.33, (ii) the
22 prescriber indicates on the face of the prescription "brand
23 medically necessary", and (iii) the prescriber specifies that
24 a substitution is not permitted. When issuing an oral
25 prescription for covered prescription medication described in
26 item (i) of this paragraph, the prescriber shall stipulate
27 "brand medically necessary" and that a substitution is not
28 permitted. If the covered prescription drug and its
29 authorizing prescription do not meet the criteria listed
30 above, the beneficiary may purchase the non-generic
31 equivalent of the covered prescription drug by paying the
32 difference between the generic cost and the non-generic cost
33 plus the beneficiary co-pay.
34 Any person otherwise eligible for pharmaceutical
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1 assistance under this Act whose covered drugs are covered by
2 any public program for assistance in purchasing any covered
3 prescription drugs shall be ineligible for assistance under
4 this Act to the extent such costs are covered by such other
5 plan.
6 The fee to be charged by the Department for the
7 identification card shall be equal to $5 for persons below
8 the official poverty line as defined by the United States
9 Department of Health and Human Services and $25 for all other
10 persons.
11 In the event that 2 or more persons are eligible for any
12 benefit under this Act, and are members of the same
13 household, (1) each such person shall be entitled to
14 participate in the pharmaceutical assistance program,
15 provided that he or she meets all other requirements imposed
16 by this subsection and (2) each participating household
17 member contributes the fee required for that person by the
18 preceding paragraph for the purpose of obtaining an
19 identification card.
20 (Source: P.A. 90-650, eff. 7-27-98; 91-357, eff. 7-29-99;
21 91-699, eff. 1-1-01.)
22 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect on
23 January 1, 2001.