New York's Nursing Home Resident Personal Needs Allowance is $50 per month - the amount a Medicaid-funded nursing home resident is permitted to keep from their own income for personal expenses, with the rest going toward the cost of their care. According to the NY State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA), this figure has been unchanged since the 1980s, and NYSOFA notes that 33 other states currently pay a higher PNA, ranging from $52 to $200.
The detail behind the program
Fifty dollars a month doesn't go far, and NYSOFA itself has flagged this publicly - its own advocacy page states that $50 in the 1980s would be worth roughly $140 today, underscoring how far behind inflation this figure has fallen. A New York State Senate bill introduced in February 2024 proposed raising the Personal Needs Allowance to $128, but it remains unenacted, so $50 per month is still the operative figure for Nassau and Suffolk nursing home residents on Medicaid. It's worth distinguishing this from a separate, similarly named figure: certain HCBS waiver participants under spousal impoverishment budgeting have their own Personal Needs Allowance, currently $633, which applies to a different population and program than the general nursing-facility resident PNA. Families should ask a facility's business office which PNA figure applies to their specific situation.
Related questions
- Do I have to enroll in an MLTC plan for home care in Nassau or Suffolk County?
- What is the NHTD Medicaid waiver and could it help my parent stay out of a nursing home?
- What is New York's Assisted Living Program (ALP) and how is it different from private-pay assisted living?
- My mom is 68 with a low income - does New York's ACA Medicaid expansion cover her nursing home or home care costs?
- How much money can my spouse keep if I go on Medicaid for nursing home care in New York in 2026?
- What is the MLTC special income standard for Long Island and why does it matter for Medicaid home care?
