Families of those who died from COVID-related causes will soon be able to apply to get reimbursed for funeral expenses as part of the $1.9 trillion economic stimulus plan passed earlier this month.
The federal assistance will be limited to a maximum financial amount of $9,000 per funeral, with a maximum of $35,500 per application for multiple funerals of other family members after Jan. 20, 2020.
“At FEMA, our mission is to help people before, during and after disasters,” said Acting FEMA Administrator Bob Fenton in a statement. “The COVID-19 pandemic has caused immense grief for so many people. Although we cannot change what has happened, we affirm our commitment to help with funeral and burial expenses that many families did not anticipate.
”The agency said it will be setting up a toll-free 800 number and an application process in the coming weeks, with details to be provided on the FEMA website at COVID-19 Funeral Assistance.
The program was enacted under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 and the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
Under the program, an official death certificate must attribute the death to COVID-19 and show that the death occurred in the United States. The death certificate must indicate the death “may have been caused by” or “was likely the result of” COVID-19 or COVID-19-like symptoms. Similar phrases that indicate a high likelihood of COVID-19 are considered sufficient attribution.
Separately, bills now before the New Jersey Legislature would allocated another $20 million to help defray funeral expenses incurred by families of those who died because of the coronavirus. Under the state program, applicants would need to be a New Jersey resident filing for a death attributed to COVID-19.
The amount of money being allocated in federal program is significant, helping to cover expenses that were never planned, said George Kelder, CEO and executive director of the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association.
“This is huge,” he remarked. “There is the potential for a lot of family members and next of kin to be reimbursed for costs that probably hurt them at the time.”
Kelder noted that the job of FEMA is to respond to natural disasters around the country and typically there are funeral costs associated with that aid. Still, he called the COVID program “a pretty significant offering for the federal government.”
Funeral directors can alert families to the funding program, but the applications for assistance must come from the next-of-kin.
So far, more than 24,400 people in New Jersey have died from COVID-related cases. And the costs of those funerals, which in this state can average from $8,934 to $9,239 — not including the casket or burial — left many with bills they were hard-pressed to pay.
The person applying for funeral assistance can be either a U.S. citizen, a non-citizen national or a qualified alien who incurred the funeral expenses.
The federal assistance will be limited to a maximum financial amount of $9,000 per funeral, with a maximum of $35,500 per application for multiple funerals of other family member.
FEMA officials recommended that families planning to seek assistance gather all funeral expense documents, such as receipts and the funeral home contract, that include the applicant’s name, the deceased individual’s name, the amount of funeral expenses and dates the funeral expenses were incurred.
The agency said it will also require proof of funds received from other sources specifically for use toward funeral costs, noting that FEMA assistance may not duplicate benefits received from burial or funeral insurance, financial assistance received from voluntary agencies, or other sources.
Kelder said some of his members have been alerting families who have lost relatives to COVID that FEMA reimbursement was coming. He expects with the large loss of life across the country, it may take some time to file for assistance once the agency sets up its toll-free lines.
“I’m sure the phone numbers will be overwhelmed,” he said.
State Sen. Richard Codey, D-Essex, who owns funeral homes in Caldwell and Boonton, said the pandemic in some cases led to costs that could be higher and lower than normal times. In the early days of the outbreak, for example, there was no visitation at funeral homes. Families could not even assemble at graveside.
Yet as funeral homes were overwhelmed by the number of COVID deaths, there were other costs to prepare and store the body.
“You had to embalm every body because there was no way to handle all that in the regular time period,” Codey explained.
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