Oregon Estate Administration Unit: How Medicaid Recovery Works and What Families Must Do

The Oregon Estate Administration Unit (EAU) is a division of the Oregon Department of Human Services (ODHS). Its function is specific: recover the costs of Medicaid long-term care benefits paid on behalf of Oregon residents from those residents' estates after they die.

If the person who died received Oregon Medicaid — particularly for nursing home care, assisted living, home health services, or any long-term care after age 55 — the EAU will contact the estate. This is not optional, not negotiable, and not a surprise to the state. The EAU maintains records of every Oregon Medicaid recipient and cross-references those records against death records routinely.

Why the EAU Contacts You

Federal law requires all states to operate a Medicaid Estate Recovery Program (MERP). Oregon operates one of the most aggressive programs in the country, reportedly recovering approximately $14 for every dollar invested in the recovery program.

The EAU pursues recovery for:

• Long-term care services paid by Oregon Medicaid (nursing facility, residential care, home and community-based services)
• Medicare Part D prescription drug costs paid before 2014 (regardless of the recipient's age)
• Medicare Part D costs paid after 2014 only if the recipient was 55 or older at the time of payment

Oregon's Expanded Estate Definition: What Assets Are Reachable

This is the fact that most surprises families, and the reason simple probate-avoidance strategies fail in Oregon:

Oregon enacted an expanded definition of the estate for Medicaid recovery purposes in July 1995. Under this framework, the EAU can pursue recovery not only from assets passing through formal probate, but also from:

• Joint tenancy accounts — bank accounts held with right of survivorship
• Transfer on Death (TOD) designated accounts and deeds
• Tenancies in common
• Life estates
• Revocable living trusts
• Other arrangements where the decedent held a legal interest at death

The practical consequence: adding an adult child's name to a bank account, recording a TOD deed on the family home, or placing assets in a revocable living trust does not shield those assets from the EAU's claims in Oregon. These are commonly promoted estate planning strategies — but they do not work against Medicaid recovery here.

The 2014 Oregon case Nay v. DHS confirmed that the EAU's reach is limited to assets where the Medicaid recipient held legal title or a legal interest at the exact moment of death — so property transferred outright (and not retained as a life estate or revocable interest) before death is generally outside the EAU's reach. But this type of strategic transfer requires advance planning years before a Medicaid application, not months.

When the EAU Cannot Collect

Oregon law mandates specific circumstances where the EAU must defer or permanently waive its claim:

Surviving spouse: If the deceased Medicaid recipient is survived by a spouse, the state cannot enforce its claim against the surviving spouse's property during the spouse's lifetime. The family home cannot be forced into sale while the surviving spouse lives. However, the claim is deferred, not extinguished — when the surviving spouse subsequently dies, the state asserts its claim against that estate. Historically, 10% to 15% of Oregon's EAU recoveries come from claims against a surviving spouse's estate.

Minor child: The state permanently defers recovery if the decedent is survived by a child under the age of 21.

Disabled or blind child: The state also defers recovery if the decedent is survived by a child of any age who is legally blind or permanently and totally disabled.

Undue hardship: Oregon may waive a recovery claim in cases of documented financial hardship. The rules for qualifying are narrow, but they exist.

What the EAU Requires From the Estate

When the EAU initiates contact with an estate, they will typically request a comprehensive set of financial documents to calculate their claim:

• Bank statements as of the date of death
• Funeral receipts and costs
• Real property information — mortgage statements, deferred tax accounts, liens
• Trust documents (if a living trust was in place)
• Annuity contracts
• A copy of the will

Providing these documents promptly is in the estate's interest. The EAU cannot finalize its recovery claim without them, and delay can create complications with the overall estate timeline.

Critical: Do Not Distribute Assets Until EAU Clearance

This is the most important procedural rule when the EAU is involved: do not distribute estate assets to heirs or pay non-priority creditors until you receive official EAU clearance or a determination of the state's claim.

If the personal representative or affiant distributes estate assets to beneficiaries before satisfying a valid EAU claim, those distributions may be voidable — meaning the EAU can potentially require heirs to return the funds.

The statutory notification requirement in Oregon reinforces this: both the Simple Estate Affidavit process and formal probate require the personal representative or affiant to serve the ODHS Estate Administration Unit with formal notice within 30 days of filing. This notification starts the process of establishing or deferring the state's claim.

How to Contact the Oregon Estate Administration Unit

The EAU is reachable through the Oregon Department of Human Services. Contact them early — even before you receive an initial communication from the state — if you know the decedent received Oregon Medicaid benefits. Proactive contact establishes a paper trail and allows you to understand the potential claim size before making distribution decisions.

When contacting the EAU, have the following information ready:

• The decedent's full legal name
• Social Security number
• Date of death
• Contact information for the personal representative or affiant

Dealing with the Oregon Estate Administration Unit is one of the most procedurally complex aspects of Oregon estate settlement. The Oregon Estate Settlement Guide covers the EAU notification requirements, creditor priority rules, and the full estate administration sequence — including exactly when it is and isn't safe to distribute assets.

See more Oregon guides →