Updated August 27, 2026. Quick answer: Maryland divides uncompensated transfers by Schedule MA-6, which publishes $12,501 a month and $411 a day, both effective 7/1/25. The schedule’s own note says those figures come from a private cost-of-care survey rather than from Maryland cost reports.
The figure Maryland publishes
| What the state lists | Figure |
|---|---|
| Schedule MA-6, average monthly amount payable for skilled nursing facility care | $12,501 |
| Schedule MA-6, average daily amount payable for skilled nursing facility care | $411 |
| Effective date printed beside both MA-6 figures | 7/1/25 |
How the penalty period is calculated
- The number of months in the penalty period equals the total cumulative uncompensated value of all assets transferred, divided by the average monthly cost to a private patient, at the time of application, of nursing facility services in the State.
- A transfer smaller than that average monthly cost still produces a penalty: its length is calculated on the proportion of the average monthly cost that was transferred.
- Where a series of transfers is made and each one is smaller than the average monthly cost, the penalty is calculated on the combined uncompensated value of all of them.
- Where the amount does not divide evenly, the remainder is again taken as a proportion of the average monthly cost rather than dropped.
- If a transfer happens while an earlier penalty is running, the new penalty begins on the first day of the first month after the earlier one ends.
Once you have the figure above, the Medicaid penalty period calculator does the arithmetic. This page is the Maryland rate record; the calculator is the class parent.
What this page does not settle
- Schedule MA-6 labels its figures the average amount PAYABLE for skilled nursing facility care, while the regulation says the average monthly cost to a PRIVATE PATIENT. The schedule’s own note says the figures are based on the Genworth 2024 Cost of Care Survey, December 2024.
- Maryland’s own transfer worksheet, DES/LTC 811, is marked revised 12/08 and still prints $4,300 as the MA-6 average cost of care and $141 for the partial month. Those two numbers are what the form shows; the schedule above is dated July 1, 2025 and is the later document. A reader who finds the worksheet first will see the older pair.
- The appendix carrying Schedule MA-6 is itself effective January 1, 2026 while the two nursing facility figures on it are each dated July 1, 2025.
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
- Maryland Medical Assistance Program, Appendix schedules effective 1/1/2026, Schedule MA-6 (the figures)
- COMAR 10.09.24.08-1, Disposal of Assets for Less Than Fair Market Value (the method)
- Maryland DES/LTC 811, Transfer/Disposal of Assets Worksheet (the form that names Schedule MA-6)
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.
A transfer penalty is a separate test from the income standard that decides eligibility in the first place. For what Maryland uses as that standard, and the state document it comes from, see Medicaid nursing home income limit in Maryland ($2,982/Month).
Related: Maryland’s Medicaid Personal Needs Allowance; the amount a nursing-facility resident keeps from their own income each month.
Related: Maryland’s Medicaid home equity limit for a single applicant with no spouse or dependent child at home.