Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregon is moving to beef up the fund that helps pay for the death expenses of indigent residents.

The state took public testimony Tuesday on a plan to fill out the fund that covers end-of-life costs for the indigent.

In each case, when family members could not be found to cover burial or cremation costs, the state would provide a maximum of $450.

William Coulombe is deputy director of public health for Oregon. He says that fund frequently ran dry.

William Coulombe  “I believe the cap is the same as it was when the indigent burial fund was first created, I believe, back in the last 80s or early 90s.”

He says the legislature has now adjusted the fee that replenishes the fund. The death filing fee is increasing from seven dollars to twenty dollars.

There’s no guarantee the new revenue will completely cover costs, but it’s a significant increase in funding.

Demand for the indigent burial fund has increased substantially as Oregon’s economy has faltered.