The Illinois legislature has passed HB 0793 and Gov. JB Pritzker has signed it into law. The bill amends various laws affecting human services and some persons with disabilities. Notably, HB 0793 amends the Medical Assistance Article of the Illinois Public Aid Code for residents living in certain Community-Integrated Living Arrangement (CILA) settings. The bill amends the personal needs allowance (PNA) for these individuals to a total of $100 per month. This bill became effective on January 1, 2025.
Persons eligible for this increased PNA live in facilities licensed under the Community-Integrated Living Arrangements Licensure and Certification Act and qualify for state medical assistance. The bill provides that the state will pay an amount in addition to the federal PNA amount authorized under Section 1902(q) of Title XIX of the Social Security Act to the extent that the total PNA equals $100 monthly. The PNA, under current law, is $60 per month.
The new PNA amount becomes effective on January 1, 2025. The PNA will annually increase at the same rate as the Social Security Administration’s cost-of-living adjustment (COLA), which takes effect on January 1st of each year.
CILAs provide flexible, supportive services to persons with developmental disabilities, either in their own homes or community settings, consisting of eight or fewer individuals living together. Generally, individuals receiving CILA services have predictable, stable, and noncontinuous medical needs rather than continuous medical needs or conditions that require skilled nursing care.
The former Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities (DMHDD), now part of the Department of Human Services, began funding CILAs in 1989. Some individuals with disabilities receive 24-hour care in CILAs; others receive intermittent care, and payment rates from the state to these CILAs vary accordingly.
In the CILA setting, the PNA is the monthly income individuals can keep for personal use. In other words, individuals with disabilities receiving CILA services can now keep $100 per month for their personal spending.
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