Losing a loved one to COVID is a wrenching affair, but for many families, handling the funeral expenses as inflation soars and employment is tenuous can be financially devastating as well. Many families might not realize FEMA has a program to help cover those costs.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency will reimburse grieving families up to $9,000 for funeral expenses tied to COVID-19 and its variants, but many families don’t apply. And some that do find themselves awash in a sea of red tape.
FEMA says it has provided $1.78 billion to date in funeral assistance costs, as of the Feb.7. In order to receive the assistance, though, the death must be directly attributed to COVID-19.
Whether through ignorance of the program or improper paperwork, though, less than one-third of the 900,000 COVID-deaths in the country have received funeral reimbursements.
There’s no time frame to apply for the funds, so grieving families can still request assistance, even if the funeral was months (or years) ago, assuming the death certificate cites COVID. If it doesn’t, getting it updated can be a frustrating affair.
To date, Texas has received the most money from FEMA for funeral reimbursements, with nearly 27,000 families splitting $176.6 million. California has received $161 million, New York families have been sent $146 million and $112 million has gone to Florida.
Alaska, though, has claimed just over $1 million in reimbursements, while Maine, Wyoming and Montana have both received less than $3 million. And Vermont’s totals dispersal so far is just over $820,000 to 142 families.
FEMA’s reimbursements won’t take away the pain of losing a family member, but it will, at least, prevent the compound sting of financial insolvency. The National Funeral Directors Association says the median cost of a funeral in the U.S. stands at just over $7,800.
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