Illinois Assisted Living Residents Get Reduction in Personal Needs Allowance

The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services has adopted an amendment to the Medical Assistance Programs reducing personal need allowances for residents of assisted living facilities. The amendment to 89 Ill. Adm. Code 120 (eff. Aug. 2, 2016), Section 120.61 is entitled “Long Term Care,” which has application to the residents of long term care facilities or state-certified, licensed or contracted residential programs.

A condition of residency at one of these long term facilities is that residents must pay all of their income to the facility unless there is an exception listed in the regulations. One of the allowed deductions is an individual’s personal needs allowance. This is a part of a resident’s income that is reserved solely for the resident to use in any way he or she wishes. The rest of the person’s income is applied to the costs for the resident’s care at the facility. The state or government will pay the rest of the full costs of the residency.

This amendment returns the allowance amount from $60 per month to $50 per month for residents of Community Integrated Living Arrangements and $30 per month for residents of Intermediate Care Facilities for Individuals with Developmental Disabilities. These changes reduce the allowances back to the 2014 level.

Kreisman Law Offices has been successfully handling nursing home abuse cases, long term care negligence cases and assisted living negligence lawsuits for individuals and families who have been injured, harmed or killed by the negligence or abuse of a medical provider for more than 40 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas including, Calumet City, Berwyn, Crete, East Hazel Crest, Bartlett, Hanover Park, Alsip, Maywood, Northbrook, Olympia Fields and Oak Lawn, Ill.