When a parent or spouse in Oregon needs nursing-home or in-home care, Medicaid planning means learning how the Oregon Health Plan judges income, assets and past gifts. It also means learning what a spouse at home may keep and what the state may recover later. For 2026, Oregon's figures include a $2,982 monthly long-term-care income standard and a $752,000 home-equity limit.
Most people facing a nursing-home admission in Oregon come to this question in the middle of something hard. A hospital discharge planner in Portland may be asking where Dad goes next. A mother in Eugene may no longer be safe at home. Or a husband in Bend may be wondering whether paying for his wife's care will leave him without the house or savings he needs to live on. The family wants to know what Oregon's program counts, what it protects, and what happens to the gifts and accounts of the last few years. This page sets out what Oregon's own official sources state on those points, separately from the federal rules every state follows. Where the Oregon sources quoted here do not settle a point, the page says so and names where Oregon publishes its rules.
How Oregon's Medicaid Program Covers Long-Term Care
The Oregon Department of Human Services long-term care page states that "Oregon's Medicaid program is called the Oregon Health Plan, or 'OHP.'" It explains that Medicaid "pays for long-term care for people who meet eligibility requirements." The page also notes that Oregon has several programs, each with its own eligibility criteria, and that services can be provided in a person's home or in a facility. The same page says people can apply online through a ONE Online account.
The rules differ for care in a nursing facility and care at home or in the community. Oregon also runs Oregon Project Independence – Medicaid (OPI-M). The ODHS page describes OPI-M as a program for people with limited income and resources that is funded by Medicaid, with services that are free for those who qualify. OPI-M uses its own income and resource standards, discussed below. For OPI-M, the page says to call or visit a local Aging and People with Disabilities (APD) or Area Agency on Aging (AAA) office.
These rules apply statewide, so a family in Salem uses the same standards as a family in Medford. This page covers Medicaid for long-term care only. It does not cover Medicare, private long-term-care insurance or veterans' benefits.
Oregon's 2026 Long-Term Care Income Standard
Oregon's 2026 cost-of-living transmittal (OEP-PT-25-045) lists the Long-Term Care Countable Income Standard, set at 300% of SSI, as $2,982 a month. The transmittal states that its updated amounts carry a January 1, 2026 effective date. The same figure appears as the 300% income cap limit for an individual in the federal CMS 2026 standards bulletin.
Oregon Medicaid Eligibility: Asset Limits and Countable vs. Exempt Property
A countable asset is a resource Medicaid adds up against the eligibility limit, such as cash, bank accounts and investments. An exempt asset is property Medicaid leaves out of that count.
Nursing-facility Medicaid. The Oregon sources quoted on this page do not state which items Oregon treats as exempt, or the asset limit for a single applicant in nursing-facility Medicaid. Those points depend on Oregon's current rules. The ODHS long-term care page is the place those rules are published, and the 2026 transmittal points to the 2026 Combined Standards (DHS 5530) through the related OPI-M memorandum for Oregon's full set of standards.
OPI-M. For OPI-M, Oregon's figures are specific. The OPI-M Income and Resource Standards, updated July 1, 2026, set the resource limit for one person at $103,645 for July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. The sheet explains that this figure is the basic daily nursing-facility rate multiplied by 30.4 days and then by six months. The OPI-M income limit is $5,320 a month (400% of the federal poverty level), effective January 1, 2026.
The home. The home is not excluded whatever its value. Federal law bars long-term-care coverage when home equity exceeds the applicable limit, unless a spouse, a child under 21 or a blind or disabled child lives in the home. Oregon's 2026 cost-of-living transmittal sets the Home Equity Exclusion Limit at $752,000, effective January 1, 2026.
Spend-down. Spend-down means lowering countable assets to the limit through allowable spending. This is different from reducing income. Which purchases count as allowable depends on Oregon's current rules.
Oregon's Look-Back Period and Transfer Penalties
The look-back period is the window before an application in which the agency reviews gifts and other transfers made for less than fair market value. Under federal law, the look-back is 60 months for any transfer made on or after February 8, 2006. The Oregon OPI-M Disqualifying Transfer of Assets guide states that "for OPI-M, the lookback period is 5-years (or 60months)" for transfers made by the individual or their spouse. It describes the OPI-M rules as similar to Medicaid long-term services and supports, but using a different resource limit.
A penalty period, which Oregon's guide calls a disqualification, is a stretch of time during which Medicaid will not pay for long-term care because of a transfer. Under federal law, the penalty starts on the later of two dates: the month of the transfer, or the date the person is eligible and would otherwise be receiving institutional-level care. As a result, a gift made four years ago is penalized the same way as one made last month, as long as both fall inside the look-back.
For OPI-M, the guide states several rules for counting transfers:
- Only a transfer with uncompensated value can be disqualifying.
- Uncompensated value is measured against the current OPI-M resource limit.
- A person whose resources were under the limit may get a "credit" that reduces or removes the disqualification.
- Multiple transfers are added together at fair market value.
The Oregon sources quoted here do not state the divisor used for nursing-facility Medicaid penalties; it depends on Oregon's current rules, published through ODHS.
Not every transfer is penalized. Federal law lists exceptions, including a transfer to the person's spouse, which carries no transfer penalty. Whether any other exception applies depends on the facts. The crisis planning checklist walks through the federal timing rules in more detail.
The community spouse is the husband or wife who stays at home while the other spouse receives nursing-facility or similar care. Federal law, 42 U.S.C. § 1396r-5, provides the protections for that spouse.
How resources are treated. At application, the resources of both spouses are counted together and a "spousal share" equal to half the total is computed. The institutionalized spouse may transfer the community spouse resource allowance (CSRA) to the community spouse. The CSRA is the share of the couple's combined countable assets the spouse at home may keep. Once eligibility is established, the community spouse's own resources are no longer deemed available to the spouse receiving care.
How income is treated. The community spouse's income is generally not treated as available to the spouse in the facility.
Oregon's 2026 figures. The 2026 transmittal, effective January 1, 2026, sets these amounts:
- Community spouse's minimum share of combined countable resources: $32,532
- Community spouse's maximum share of combined countable resources: $162,660
- Maximum community spouse monthly income allowance: $4,066.50
For OPI-M, the APD-IM-26-009 memorandum lists a Community Spousal Allowance Standard of $2,705. The memorandum says the updated spousal standards became effective July 1, 2026. Federally, the minimum monthly maintenance needs allowance (MMMNA), the base monthly income protected for the spouse at home, adjusts each July 1, according to the CMS bulletin.
Couples in Gresham, Corvallis and throughout the Willamette Valley often find this section matters most, because it decides what the spouse at home has to live on. Comparable figures for other states appear on the Illinois Medicaid planning page.
Oregon Estate Recovery: What Happens After a Medicaid Recipient Dies
Estate recovery is the process by which a state seeks repayment from a deceased Medicaid recipient's estate for care it paid for. Federal law, 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(b)(1)(B), requires states to seek recovery from the estates of people who received assistance at age 55 or older. That requirement covers nursing facility services, home and community-based services, and related hospital and prescription drug services, and it lets states recover for other services at their option. What Oregon recovers from, and how far its definition of "estate" reaches, depends on Oregon's current rules.
Recovery is deferred, not cancelled, while certain family members survive. Under 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(b)(2), recovery may be made only after the death of a surviving spouse, and only when there is no surviving child who is under 21, or who is blind or disabled. For a lien on the home, recovery is also delayed while either of these relatives lawfully lives there:
- a sibling who lived in the home for at least one year before the admission, or
- a son or daughter who lived there for at least two years before the admission and provided care that let the parent stay home.
Under 42 U.S.C. § 1396p(b)(3), each state must also have procedures to waive recovery when it would cause undue hardship. Whether a waiver is granted depends on the facts and the state's criteria.
For families in Portland, Salem or a small town on the Oregon Coast, the family home is often the asset everyone is thinking about. Recovery is not the only possible outcome; it depends on who survives, what the estate holds and Oregon's rules.
Irrevocable trusts. An irrevocable trust is a trust the person who creates it cannot later cancel or change. Federal guidance on Medicaid eligibility policy states that a trust funded with at least some of an individual's money can be considered available to that individual. That applies when the trust is set up by the individual, the individual's spouse or anyone acting on the individual's behalf. Whether trust assets count generally turns on what the trustee can pay to or for the applicant. A trust sometimes called a Medicaid asset protection trust is funded in advance of care; moving assets into it is a transfer, so the look-back and penalty rules described above apply.
Annuities. A Medicaid-compliant annuity turns a lump sum into a stream of income. Federal law sets conditions on how annuities are treated, including naming the state as a remainder beneficiary. Neither an annuity nor an irrevocable trust always protects assets.
Allowable spending. How Oregon treats particular purchases depends on its current rules. So does whether a transfer of the home to a caregiving child falls within an exception.
These tools are described here, not recommended. Each depends on timing, family facts and the rules in effect. Families in Bend, Medford and elsewhere in Oregon often weigh them only after care has already begun. Other states' versions of these questions appear on the Colorado Medicaid planning and Texas Medicaid planning pages.
What an Oregon Medicaid Planning Attorney Does — and What to Look For
Elder law attorneys who handle Medicaid matters typically work on:
- eligibility analysis and applications
- asset protection planning and trust drafting
- spousal resource and income calculations
- hearings after an eligibility decision
On hearings, the OPI-M decision notice, updated April 2026, states that a person has 90 days to request a hearing on medical eligibility. The request can be made on form MSC 0443, by phone, in writing or in person with an ODHS employee.
To keep benefits in place until the hearing decision, the notice says the request must be made by the latest of three dates:
- the effective date on the notice,
- 10 days after the date of the notice, or
- for medical benefits only, 10 days after receipt of the notice.
The notice adds that a person who keeps benefits and then loses the hearing must pay back the benefits they should not have received.
Some lawyers hold professional designations. The Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) designation is a certification for attorneys who meet its requirements. The National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) is a professional association. A Certified Medicaid Planner (CMP) is a designation that non-attorneys may hold, and legal advice requires a licensed attorney.
Families often ask a prospective attorney about these points:
- experience with Oregon applications
- familiarity with Oregon's 2026 figures
- work on spousal cases
- approach to estate recovery
Medicaid Asset Protection Group provides information and facilitates inquiries. It is not a law firm, does not represent anyone and does not give legal advice. An inquiry sent through this site may be passed to attorneys who decide for themselves whether to respond.
Discussing Medicaid Planning in Oregon
In Oregon, the answer often turns on details that never appear in a general chart. These include the date of each gift, how the couple's resources stood when care began, whether the home's equity is near $752,000, who lives in the home, and which program the care falls under. A conversation with an attorney would cover those assets, dates, transfers, the care setting and the family's circumstances. This page cannot settle another state's rules, Medicare or private insurance questions.
To discuss a situation like this with an attorney, request a consultation about your family's Medicaid and long-term-care options through Medicaid Asset Protection Group.
Reviewed by Russell E. Griffith, Esq.
California Trusts & Estates Attorney
California State Bar No. 120564
Licensed in California Since 1985
California Western School of Law
