Increasing Medicaid personal needs allowance
SB 169 increases West Virginia's Medicaid personal needs allowance to $150 per month for nursing home residents, effective July 1, 2026. This allowance allows residents to keep money for personal items like clothing, dentures, cosmetics, and small gifts. The bill defines "personal needs allowance" as the portion of a resident's personal income they can spend on non-medical daily needs. It directly affects Medicaid-funded nursing home residents by providing greater financial flexibility for personal expenses.
Bill status
in committee
1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Feb 12, 2025
Last action Feb 26, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison
What changed between versions
Introduced Version
→
Committee Substitute
·
4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was amended from a technical correlation of Medicaid personal needs allowance to the state poverty index into a direct increase of the allowance to $150 per month, effective July 1, 2026. This change simplifies the policy by establishing a fixed dollar amount rather than a formulaic adjustment, providing clearer financial support for elderly Medicaid nursing home residents.
Scope change
The bill's scope shifted from a formula-based correlation to a fixed monetary increase, though the target population (elderly Medicaid nursing home residents) remains unchanged.
FISCAL
Changed from correlating allowance to state poverty index to a fixed increase of $150 per month
DEFINITION
Added a new definition clarifying that personal needs allowance includes cosmetic services, clothing, flowers, plants, and gifts
TIMELINE
Established effective date of July 1, 2026 for the new allowance amount
REQUIREMENT
Removed requirement to tie allowance to state poverty index and replaced with direct legislative increase
Floor votes
How they voted
No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
6
Key actions
1
Committee
4
Feb 26, 2025
Committee
To Finance
upper
Feb 26, 2025
Upper · Passed
Committee substitute reported, but first to Finance
upper
Feb 12, 2025
Committee
To Health and Human Resources
upper
Feb 12, 2025
Introduced
Introduced in Senate
upper
Feb 12, 2025
Committee
To Health and Human Resources then Finance
upper
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Laura Chapman
RRepublican
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