Updated August 27, 2026. Quick answer: Minnesota divides uncompensated transfers by $11,869 a month for July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The figure is the statewide average payment for skilled nursing facility care, which is what Medical Assistance pays rather than what a private patient is charged.
The figure Minnesota publishes
| What the state lists | Figure |
|---|---|
| SAPSNF, July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 | $11,869 per month |
| SAPSNF, July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026 | $11,653 per month |
How the penalty period is calculated
- Add together all uncompensated transfers, then divide by the SAPSNF in effect in the month the applicant was found to be otherwise eligible for MA-LTC. The divisor is fixed by that month, not by the month of the transfer.
- The penalty is the full number of months plus any partial month the division leaves over.
- A partial month is handled as a reduction in the MA-LTC payment for that month rather than as another month of ineligibility.
- The penalty cannot start until the person would be otherwise eligible for MA-LTC, so the clock does not run while someone is over the asset limit.
Once you have the figure above, the Medicaid penalty period calculator does the arithmetic. This page is the Minnesota rate record; the calculator is the class parent.
What this page does not settle
- Appendix F publishes only the two most recent effective periods, so the older SAPSNF figures are not reproduced here.
- The SAPSNF is updated annually in July, which means a July application and a June application can be divided by different figures.
- Annuities, life estates and trusts are valued under separate rules in the manual before this division happens, and this page does not work through them.
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
- Minnesota DHS Health Care Programs Eligibility Policy Manual, Appendix F, Standards and Guidelines (the figure)
- Minnesota DHS Eligibility Policy Manual 2.4.1.3.2, Transfer Penalty (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.
A transfer penalty is a separate test from the income standard that decides eligibility in the first place. For what Minnesota uses as that standard, and the state document it comes from, see Medicaid nursing home income limit in Minnesota ($2,982/Mo Gate).
Related: Minnesota’s Medicaid home equity limit for a single applicant with no spouse or dependent child at home.
Related: Minnesota’s Medicaid Personal Needs Allowance; the amount a nursing-facility resident keeps from their own income each month.