Updated September 6, 2026. Quick answer: In West Virginia, a Medicaid nursing-facility resident’s Personal Needs Allowance is $50.00/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. West Virginia Dept. of Human Services, Bureau for Family Assistance, Income Maintenance Manual, Chapter 24 “Long Term Care” states the figure directly.
Why West Virginia’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. West Virginia has done exactly that, setting $50.00/Month, effective not printed on the page; PDF generated/current as of August 25, 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
Residents receiving the reduced VA pension keep $90/month; SSI recipients in the facility 3+ months are reduced to $30/month.
| Citation | West Virginia Dept. of Human Services, Bureau for Family Assistance, Income Maintenance Manual, Chapter 24 “Long Term Care” |
| What it says | “24.7.3.A.1 Client’s Personal Needs Allowance (PNA) This amount is subtracted from income to cover the cost of clothing and other personal needs of the nursing facility resident. For most residents, the monthly amount deducted is $50.” |
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.