LEGISLATIVE FISCAL ESTIMATE TO


SENATE, No. 1537


STATE OF NEW JERSEY


DATED: JANUARY 24, 1997


 

      Bill Summary:

      Senate Bill No. 1537 of 1996 would increase the annual income eligibility requirements of the Pharmaceutical Assistance to the Aged and Disabled (PAAD) program to take into account any dependent children a disabled applicant may have. The bill establishes new income eligibility requirements for disabled persons with dependent children as follows:

No. of Dependent Children

Disabled

Single

Disabled

Married

1

up to $19,000

up to $23,000

2

up to $22,000

up to $26,000

3 or more

up to $25,000

up to $29,000

 

      A dependent child would be defined according to provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. The current PAAD program limits are $17,056 and $20,913 for single and married persons, respectively.

      Agency Comments:

      The Department of Health and Senior Services and the Office of Management and Budget have not provided any fiscal information on the legislation.

      Office of Legislative Services Comments:

      The Office of Legislative Services is not able to estimate the number of disabled persons who may qualify for PAAD and related programs as a result of the higher income limits allowed due to dependents. As the current PAAD application does not request information on dependents, no information is available on current recipients that can be used for estimating purposes. Also, income data contained in State and federal tax returns cannot be used as the definitions of "income" for tax purposes and for the PAAD program differ.

      However, based on current PAAD data, it is possible to estimate a hypothetical cost for every 1,000 new disabled persons who become eligible for PAAD as a result of this legislation. Based on current prescription drug and utilization data, PAAD costs would increase about $2.0 million for every 1,000 new disabled recipients who qualify for the program. The inclusion of administrative and Lifeline program costs would increase costs to about $2.5 million annually.

 

      This legislative fiscal estimate has been produced by the Office of Legislative Services due to the failure of the Executive Branch to respond to our request for a fiscal note.

 

This fiscal estimate has been prepared pursuant to P.L.1980, c.67.