Newly introduced legislation in the Ohio House would increase the Medicaid personal needs allowance (PNA) and extend it to assisted living residents, addressing a gap left in the most recent state operating budget.
House Bill 822, introduced this week, proposes raising the monthly PNA to at least $100 for individuals and $200 for couples across nursing facilities, ICFs/IID, and the Medicaid-funded assisted living program. The bill also explicitly includes assisted living waiver participants—who were not part of the recent budget increase.
As advocates will recall, the SFY 2026–2027 operating budget increased the PNA for nursing facility residents from $50 to $75 per month. However, the Ohio Department of Medicaid did not apply that increase to individuals enrolled in the assisted living waiver, leaving those residents at the prior level.
HB 822 seeks to correct that disparity by both aligning assisted living with other long-term care settings and establishing a higher statutory minimum going forward.
For providers and stakeholders, the change could help ensure greater equity across care settings while giving residents more resources to cover personal expenses not included in their care. The proposal may also support ongoing advocacy efforts to ensure consistent treatment of assisted living residents within Medicaid policy.