Bills › 91st General Assembly
Relating to the personal needs allowance under the medical assistance program
Sponsored by the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, Sen. Cherielynn Westrich (R)
Topics:Health care
Same legislation: SF 255
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedFebruary 11, 2025
- Done: SubcommitteeFebruary 18, 2025
- Done: Senate committeeMarch 3, 2025
- Stopped: Passes the SenateDied when the General Assembly ended
- Next: House committeeFunnel: by March 20, 2026
- Next: Passes the House
- Next: To the Governor
- Next: Signed into law
Died when the session ended The General Assembly adjourned on October 2, 2026. Bills that didn’t pass both chambers died. What’s a funnel?
What’s in it
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. This bill relates to the personal needs allowance under the medical assistance program. The personal needs allowance covers a person’s personal expenses not covered by the medical assistance program. Current law provides that a person who is a resident of a nursing facility, an intermediate care facility for persons with an intellectual disability or mental illness, or a psychiatric medical institution for children may retain a personal needs allowance of $50 per month.
Read the full explanation
A resident who has an income of less than $50 dollars per month shall receive a supplement from the state to receive a personal needs allowance of $50 per month. The bill increases the personal needs allowance to $65 per month and a resident with an income of less than $65 per month shall receive a supplement from the state. The bill provides that beginning July 1, 2026, the department shall annually increase the personal needs allowance by a percentage equal to the annual percentage change in the United States department of labor, bureau of labor statistics, consumer price index for all urban consumers for the midwest region, all items, or a successor index. The personal needs allowance shall not exceed $100 per month. Beginning January 2027, the department of health and human services shall review the personal needs allowance, in consultation with the long-term care ombudsman, and biennially submit a report relating to the review to the general assembly on or before the second Monday in January.
From the explanation printed with the bill as introduced, written by the Legislative Services Agency. Amendments adopted later aren’t reflected. Full bill text
Fiscal note
6 million in FY 2026 and the same amount in FY 2027. 1 million of the total cost in FY 2026 and the same amount in FY 2027. Source Department of Health and Human Services /s/ Jennifer Acton March 24, 2025 Doc ID 1524980 The fiscal note for this Bill was prepared pursuant to Joint Rule 17 and the Iowa Code.
- Personal Needs Allowance, Medicaid · March 24, 2025
Nonpartisan cost estimates from the Legislative Services Agency’s Fiscal Services Division. The newest is first. Reading a fiscal note
Iowa Code it changes
Amends§249A.30A
Read from the bill as introduced. Each links to every bill touching that chapter of the Iowa Code. How the Code works
Lobbying
9 for · 0 against · 3 undecided · Who →
Family tree
Where this legislation came from and where it went: earlier tries, the versions it moved through this Assembly, and later bills built on it.
91st General Assembly
Earlier and later bills are matched by wording or an identical title; check the text to be sure it’s the same idea.
Similar bills
- HF 225 Relating to the personal needs allowance under the medical assistance program91st General Assembly · In committeeSimilar
Matched by the wording of each bill’s explanation, or an identical title. Companion bills and renumbered versions of this bill aren’t listed; they’re the same bill.