SENATE, No. 1129
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED MAY 9, 1996
By Senator ZANE
An Act concerning eligibility for Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled and amending P.L.1975, c.194, P.L.1978, c.171, and P.L.1979, c.27.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 1 of P.L.1975, c.194 (C.30:4D-20) is amended to read as follows:
1. The commissioner shall establish a program which shall be known as "Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled."
(cf: P.L.1975, c.194, s.1)
2. Section 2 of P.L.1975, c.194 (C.30:4D-21) is amended to read as follows:
2. a. Any resident of this State who is either a recipient of disability insurance benefits under Title II of the federal Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 401 et seq.); or a recipient of disability benefits under the federal "Railroad Retirement Act of 1974" (45 U.S.C. § 231 et seq.), the federal civil service retirement program (5 U.S.C. § 8331 et seq.) or any federal law administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs where the disability is rated as 60%, or higher; or 65 years of age and over and whose annual income is less than $16,624 if single or, if married, whose annual income combined with that of his spouse is less than $20,383, shall be eligible for "Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled" if he is not otherwise qualified for assistance under P.L.1968, c.413 (C.30:4D-1 et seq.). Annual income shall not include gain from the sale of a principal residence that is excluded from gross income pursuant to N.J.S.54A:6-9.
In the case of a resident receiving disability benefits under the federal civil service retirement program, the resident shall provide the department with a statement in writing from the resident's physician that the resident is totally and permanently disabled. The resident shall obtain the physician's statement at his own expense. Upon receipt of the statement the department shall determine if the resident is otherwise eligible for the Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled program.
b. Beginning January 1, 1996 and annually thereafter, the income eligibility limits provided in subsection a. of this section shall increase by the amount of the maximum Social Security benefit cost-of-living increase for that year for single and married persons, respectively. The commissioner shall adopt the new income limits annually by regulation pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).
(cf: P.L.1995, c.27, s.1)
3. Section 9 of P.L.1978, c.171 (C.30:4D-32) is amended to read as follows:
9. The commissioner shall issue an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature by October 1 of each year. Such report shall include a summary of "Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled" program activities for the preceding fiscal year and any recommendations or suggestions form legislative consideration.
(cf: P.L.1978, c.171, s.9)
4. Section 1 of P.L.1979, c.27 (C.30:4D-34) is amended to read as follows:
1. Any eligible person under the program of Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled shall, upon the submission of [such] the application and proof of expenditure as the department may prescribe, be reimbursed for the cost of all prescription drugs purchased by [such] the person, minus a $2.00 copayment per prescription, during the period commencing 30 days after [such] the person's properly completed application was received by the department and ending on the date on which [such] the person received his proof of eligibility from the department; provided, however, that no reimbursement under this act shall be made for any prescription drug purchased prior to the effective date of this act.
(cf: P.L.1979, c.383, s.1)
5. This act shall take effect on the first day of the second month following enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill extends the benefits of the Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled (PAAD) program to otherwise eligible individuals who receive disability benefits under certain federal programs other than Social Security. These include the "Railroad Retirement Act of 1974," the federal civil service retirement program and any federal law administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs where the individual's disability is rated 60% or higher.
Presently, only those persons defined as disabled pursuant to the federal Social Security Act are eligible for PAAD. This limitation on eligibility for disabled persons has meant that State residents with comparable disabilities who, during their working years did not have the opportunity to contribute to Social Security and thus qualify for disability under that system, now cannot qualify for various State programs such as PAAD and Lifeline. Since eligibility for Lifeline is tied to eligibility for PAAD, an additional effect of this bill will be to extend eligibility for the Lifeline programs to these disabled residents.
In addition, this bill makes technical amendments to update the name of the program to include the disabled.
Extends eligibility for PAAD to persons disabled under certain federal programs.