FEMA announced that it would reimburse the families of COVID-19 victims for funeral expenses incurred after January 20, 2020.
The good news is, according to Poynter.org, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has set aside a budget of $2 Billion for the program. The agency estimates that individual families should expect reimbursements of between $3,000 to $7,000.
According to a report in Politico, the bad news is this program is expected to be convoluted because many deaths have been mislabeled, and death records are not recorded in one central location.
“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which collect mortality data on the pandemic, has advised FEMA that — for logistical and regulatory reasons — CDC cannot verify whether individual deaths are Covid-related,” the report stated.
“Instead, the disaster agency will need to lean on overburdened state health agencies and medical institutions to cross-reference federal data with death certificates,” the Politico report continued.
That means families will have the responsibility of proving they are next of kin. They will also need death certificates that state the cause of death as COVID-19. Family members should also confirm that they have not already claimed funeral expenses through any other agency such as the Veterans Affairs benefits program.
FEMA says it is still working on processing the claims. Still, critics argue the agency should brace itself for a barrage of fraudulent claims and even multiple claims from different family members.
“Additional guidance is being finalized and will be released to potential applicants and community partners as soon as possible. In the meantime, people who have COVID-19 funeral expenses are encouraged to keep and gather documentation,” the agency said.
