Updated September 6, 2026. Quick answer: In Arizona, a Medicaid nursing-facility resident’s Personal Needs Allowance is $149.10/Month; the amount of their own income they keep for personal use each month, with the rest going to the facility as the patient-pay amount toward the cost of care. That is well above the $30/month federal floor set in 1988 and never raised since. AHCCCS Eligibility Policy Manual (EPM), Chapter 1200: Customer Costs, “C. Share of Cost (SOC) Deductions” states the figure directly.
Why Arizona’s figure isn’t the federal floor
Federal Medicaid law requires only a $30-a-month personal needs allowance as a floor; a state is free to set its own, higher figure by statute, regulation, or agency policy. Arizona has done exactly that, setting $149.10/Month, effective January 1, 2026 – December 31, 2026.
What the allowance covers, and what it doesn’t
The personal needs allowance pays for the things a facility’s daily rate doesn’t cover: clothing, haircuts, snacks, a phone or television, small personal purchases. It is deducted before the rest of a resident’s income is applied to the facility bill as the patient-pay (or post-eligibility treatment of income, PETI) amount. It is not extra money on top of what Medicaid already pays the facility; it is the one slice of a resident’s own income that Medicaid rules guarantee the resident, not the facility, keeps.
One exception or caveat worth knowing
The PNA is set month by month, not prorated: $149.10 (15% of the Federal Benefit Rate) applies when the customer lives in a long-term care medical facility for the entire calendar month. If during any part of the month the customer lives in their own home or an HCBS setting, the PNA for that month is 300% of the FBR, which is $2,982.00 for January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026.
| Citation | AHCCCS Eligibility Policy Manual (EPM), Chapter 1200: Customer Costs, “C. Share of Cost (SOC) Deductions” |
| What it says | “Lives in a long-term care medical facility for the entire calendar month 15% of the Federal Benefit Rate (FBR) for ALTCS customers … Effective 01/01/2026 to 12/31/2026 15% of the FBR $141.45 $145.05 $149.10” |
Figures verified against the AHCCCS Eligibility Policy Manual, Chapter 1200 (Share of Cost Deductions), and 42 U.S.C. 1396a(q) on September 30, 2026.
Every citation on this page was read directly from the state’s own Medicaid agency, administrative code, or official eligibility manual this session. General information, not legal or financial advice; a figure this specific can change with a budget cycle or a rule amendment, and a facility or state caseworker has the final say on any individual case.
Related: use the Medicaid spend-down calculator to estimate how much you would need to spend down to qualify for long-term-care Medicaid in your state.