The Problem:
In 1974, the federal government set a minimum personal
needs allowances of $25 for residents of nursing homes. We often thing
our worth is tied in some measure to what we can and cannot afford. The
Personal Needs Allowance has an important role in assisting residents to
meet incidental and other needs that contribute to their quality of life
such as paying for glasses, dentures, hearing aids, snacks, haircuts,
supplemental health insurance, burial insurance and clothing. Limiting
the personal needs allowance to only $30 per month means that a resident
may not be able to afford to participate in an activity at their
facility or they may give up attending church services because the don't
feel they can include an offering.
It is obvious that in today's economy,
$30 a month is not a sufficient amount for many residents to meet their
personal needs. In 1988, the minimum personal needs allowance, set by
the federal government, was raised to $30. Currently in Georgia, a
nursing home resident who receives Medicaid assistance receives the
minimum Personal Need Allowance permitted. Thirty dollars is not nearly
enough for most nursing home residents. Particularly, with the changes
to the Adult Medically Needy category of nursing home Medicaid requiring
the creation of Miller Trusts, the Personal Needs Allowance will have to
fund even more needs such as the monthly Miller Trust checking account
fee and medications not covered by Medicaid.
In contrast, residents of personal
care homes who are eligible for Community Care Services through the
Medicaid program, are permitted to keep at least $95 of their monthly
income and VA residents keep at least $90.00 per month. This shows a
disparity between Medicaid programs, placing nursing home residents at
the bottom of the ladder for basic supplemental assistance.
What other states are doing:
State have the option to subsidize the personal needs allowance,
Protocols for automatic annual increases are in place in four
states. In fact, if the Personal Needs Allowance first sent in 1974
had been increased at a rate equal to the Consumer Price Index
(CPI), it would be $115.19 in 2004. As of November 30, 2004, the
average state monthly Personal Needs Allowance for nursing home
residents was $44.75, a 3.4% increase from the $43.29 average
reporting in 2001. Across the country PNA ranges from $30.00 in
Georgian for instance, to $82.00 in Arizona. Almost one third of the
states have set their personal needs allowance at $40 or more.
What this legislation would do:
An appropriation of $525,000 would permit the approximately 35,000
nursing home residents who are Medicaid recipients, to keep $15 more per
month; therefore raising the personal needs allowance to $45. This would
bring Georgia in line with many other states.
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