Updated August 26, 2026. Quick answer: TennCare’s manual gives the method rather than a published figure: divide by the average daily private-pay rate in effect at the later of the application date or the date of transfer.
What Tennessee publishes instead of a figure
Tennessee publishes the calculation rule rather than a figure in this chapter, so there is no number to put in a table here. What the state does specify is below.
How the penalty period is calculated
- To determine the penalty period, divide the uncompensated value of the transferred assets by the average daily private-pay rate for nursing-facility care.
- The rate used is the one at the time of application for TennCare Medicaid or the date of transfer, whichever is later.
Once you have the rate that applies to your date, the Medicaid penalty period calculator does the arithmetic. This page is the Tennessee rate record; the calculator is the class parent.
What this page does not settle
- This page carries no Tennessee dollar figure. The policy states the method and the timing rule but does not publish the daily rate itself in this chapter, so quoting a number here would mean sourcing it from somewhere the state did not put it.
- Ask TennCare or an elder-law attorney in Tennessee for the rate in effect on the controlling date.
Eligibility is decided by the state agency on the whole file, not by this one number. Nothing here is legal advice, and no one should transfer, retitle or give away property on the strength of a worksheet.
Source
TennCare Aged, Blind and Disabled Manual, Policy 125.010, Transfer of Assets and Penalty Periods — retrieved and checked against the state text on August 26, 2026.
A look-back review is a poor moment to discover the health directive was never executed properly, and Tennessee’s advance directive requirements set out the number of witnesses Tennessee requires and whether notarization is offered as an alternative.
Related: Tennessee’s Medicaid home equity limit for a single applicant with no spouse or dependent child at home.
Related: Tennessee’s Medicaid Personal Needs Allowance; the amount a nursing-facility resident keeps from their own income each month.