Finance Committee backs change to Medicaid personal-needs allowance and keeps attached medical-marijuana provision, 18-7

The Finance Committee voted 18 to 7 to report Senate Bill 118 ought to pass as amended. The bill makes a procedural change to the Medicaid personal-needs allowance for long‑term care residents and carries an amendment that would permit home cultivation for certain medical cannabis patients.

The bill would change the existing five‑year cost‑of‑living adjustment schedule for the personal‑needs allowance to an annual adjustment. The personal‑needs allowance is the monthly amount a Medicaid recipient in long‑term care may retain from their own income for personal expenses (examples cited in the hearing included toiletries, small purchases and communications). Committee discussion noted the allowance is not state money; it is the recipient’s personal income.

Representative Daniels, speaking against the bill, summarized fiscal implications and process concerns: increases tied to more frequent cost‑of‑living adjustments would add an estimated $50,000–$100,000 in fiscal 2026 and $100,000–$500,000 in later years, funded 50% by state general funds and 50% federal matching funds. Daniels also warned that the amendment attaching House Bill 53—permitting home cultivation for medical marijuana patients—could jeopardize the measure’s prospects in the Senate because similar marijuana measures have repeatedly failed there.

Supporters said the annual adjustment smooths budgetary spikes that occur when five years of increases are applied at once and argued the change returns modest additional income to nursing‑home residents. Representative Seaworth explained that increasing the allowance over time means more of a resident’s Social Security would remain with the resident rather than being applied to institutional charges; the state’s share of costs would only rise modestly, the committee heard.

Committee members also questioned enforcement and implementation details after the house amendment was attached. Opponents said the attached medical‑marijuana provision could provoke resistance in the Senate and risk the broader bill.

The committee adopted the measure (18–7). A minority report will be filed by Representative Daniels.

Ending

The bill now proceeds to the next stage of consideration; committee members on both sides asked for clear fiscal notes and additional implementation details as the measure moves forward.