FEMA Covid Funeral Relief

[James48]

I think it’s time to change the qualification requirements for FEMA Covid Funeral Relief.

FEMA has been paying for funerals up to $35,500 for any Covid death since early in the pandemic. https://www.fema.gov/disaster/coronavirus/economic/funeral-assistance/faq

I say Congress needs to change the payment criteria. Effective October 1, we should require proof of full vaccination at least two weeks prior to Covid diagnosis and death.

If they’ve had the shot(s), and somehoo on w then die of Covid- then fine, FEMA will pay as currently. Up to $35.5k.

But if they are unvaccinated, they should get nothing. Or maybe a $1,000 unvaccinated consulation prize for dying unvaxxed.

[Klaralven]

1. The price of pine lumber must have gone way up!

[DET]

2. Unbelievable

I am astounded that we are paying for the funerals of the purposefully unvaccinated who are essentially responsible for their own deaths, as well as potentially the deaths of other people. This needs to end. Let them set up their endless GoFundMes for those who are gullible enough to contribute.

[roamer65]

3. There is one cheap and safer way to bury them.

Mass graves.

[Indykatie]

4. I Forgot About This Funeral Fund Since There So Many GoFundMe Accounts For Funeral Expenses. n/t

[lark]

5. Nope, no money for the potentially murderous and suicidal anti-vaxxers.

Let them die on their own dime, why should we pay when they are creating more risk for more people and on purpose. Hell no!

[MineralMan]

6. Actually, the maximum payment is $9000 per death from COVID

I went through the quite long process of filing for this relief benefit after my father died of Covid.

It's actually pretty time-consuming and took quite a long time before the benefit was received. The documentation requirements are exacting. Applications must be made by telephone. There is no online application process. When you call, you need pretty much all information regarding the deceased person. Then, you will be asked to submit all the documentation. If there are any questions, you will be contacted by telephone.

I'm a pretty smart guy who is very organized regarding paperwork. This was a complicated process - one that a lot of people wouldn't be able to complete successfully, I think.

I did receive the benefit, which allowed me to reimburse myself and my brother-in-law for my father's funeral expenses.

[Delphinus]

7. Thank you

Your first-hand account helps keep things clear.

{{hugs}}

[MineralMan]

8. That was my first experience with FEMA.

The people I talked to on the phone were very nice, but the process is far too complex for many to deal with.

All too often, the required documentation gets tossed once the funeral is over. You must produce a detailed invoice from the funeral home, the cemetery, and the place that makes the headstone, if there is one. You also have to send along the death certificate that shows COVID-19 as the cause of death. The death certificate isn't too hard, and most people order multiple copies of it. FEMA only requires a photocopy. However, if you have made arrangements with the funeral home, cemetery, and anyone else by phone, you may not have a copy of those invoices. So, that might involve contacting them again. Fortunately, all of the invoices I needed had been emailed to me as pdf files, so I could print them. If invoices aren't marked "paid in full," you'll need documentation that you did pay for them at the time.

There's also a document they send to you to fill out. It's not entirely clear how that should be filled out, actually. I had to call with questions. Then, in the end, there was some question about my mother's death, since she died on the same day as my father, but not from COVID-19. Because she would have been the next of kin, I sent her death certificate, too, along with a cover letter explaining why the funeral home and cemetery invoices showed costs for both of them

That slowed things down, since the cover letter was not read, apparently, by the FEMA person who processed everything. That involved another delay and a complicated phone call, during which I had to explain the same thing once again that I had detailed my cover letter.

The bottom line is that getting that benefit is a complicated process, with plenty of room for error on the applicant's part, along with a bureaucracy at the other end that doesn't always pay close attention to the documentation. I suspect that some applicants simply give up and forget about getting the benefit altogether. It took me three months to get the check. Fortunately, I had been able to pay the bills beforehand without too much problem. My brother-in-law split the cost with me, so he got half of the benefit.