Updated August 27, 2026. Quick answer: Maine divides uncompensated transfers by $13,339 a month. The state builds that figure from nursing facilities’ own reported daily rates and multiplies the average by 31, and it is redetermined every June 1.
The figure Maine publishes
| What the state lists | Figure |
|---|---|
| Average nursing care private rate, the penalty divisor, 2026 MaineCare Eligibility Guidelines | $13,339 per month |
| Prior published figure, effective 10/19/2014 | $8476.00 |
| Prior published figure, effective 9/1/2011 | $7667.00 |
| Prior published figure, effective 1/1/2006 | $6255.00 |
How the penalty period is calculated
- Divide the amount transferred by the current average nursing care private rate at the time of application. The remaining fraction is disregarded.
- Since June 1, 2023 the rate itself is computed from the previous year’s figures as reported by nursing facilities on their most recent MaineCare Cost Report to the Division of Audit.
- The department adds together all reported nursing facility daily rates, divides by the number of reported rates, and multiplies that average daily rate by 31 to get the monthly divisor.
- The rate is redetermined annually with effective dates of June 1 and is posted on the department’s health care assistance page.
Once you have the figure above, the Medicaid penalty period calculator does the arithmetic. This page is the Maine rate record; the calculator is the class parent.
What this page does not settle
- Chart 4.3 lists effective dates from 1994 to 2014 and then switches to the annual June 1 method, so the figures for the years in between are not printed in the chart.
- Multiplying the average daily rate by 31 rather than by the actual number of days in a month makes the monthly divisor slightly larger than a 30-day month would produce.
- The eligibility guidelines chart prints the current figure without its own effective date; the June 1 rule comes from Chart 4.3, which is a separate document.
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.
Sources
- 2026 MaineCare Eligibility Guidelines chart, Maine DHHS Office for Family Independence (the figure)
- 10-144 C.M.R. Chapter 332, MaineCare Eligibility Manual, Appendices and Charts, Chart 4.3 Nursing Care Private Rate (the method)
Each source above was retrieved and read against the state text on August 27, 2026. Every figure on this page was checked against those bytes.
Related: Maine’s Medicaid home equity limit for a single applicant with no spouse or dependent child at home.