New York's nursing home resident Personal Needs Allowance (PNA) is $50 per month -- unchanged since the 1980s, and among the lowest in the country; 33 states pay more, in a $52-$200 range. A 2024 state senate bill proposed raising it to $128, but it has not been enacted, and the PNA remains $50/month.
The detail behind the program
The PNA is the amount a Medicaid nursing home resident is legally entitled to keep from their own income each month, after the rest goes toward the cost of their care. Families are often surprised how little this actually is -- $50 has to cover clothing, haircuts, phone service, and any small personal expenses.
Do not confuse this figure with the separate $633 Personal Needs Allowance that applies to certain waiver participants under spousal impoverishment budgeting -- that is a different figure for a different population and a different program. If a Staten Island family is planning around a parent's Medicaid nursing home stay, budgeting for essentially no discretionary income beyond $50/month is the realistic starting point.
Related questions
- What is Managed Long Term Care (MLTC), and is it mandatory on Staten Island?
- What is the NHTD waiver, and how is it different from MLTC?
- What is New York's Assisted Living Program (ALP), and does it pay room and board?
- Is ACA Medicaid expansion the same thing as long-term care Medicaid for seniors?
- What are New York's 2026 spousal impoverishment protections?
- What is the NYC-region MLTC special income standard, and does it apply to Staten Island?
